Caught Between Two Worlds
by marshalanime
Summary: It doesn't take much for time to split off in different direction. Every time a choice is made there's a world were the opposite happened. Naruto finds this out first hand when he finds he can slip into a timeline that split of from his. Now he'll have to decide to stay in the world he was born to or abandon it. Large harem planed. Partial AU.
1. Chapter 1

**I know, I know. It's been a few years. I haven't had a lot of free time and to be honest I still don't. I just wanted to write something to relax a little and this idea came to me. So if this ends up getting dropped as well then I apologize in advance but for the time being I hope you enjoy the story.**

**(Marshalanime does not own Naruto)**

It had been more than an hour since the sun sank over the horizon as the elderly kage sat at his desk overlooking a few documents. In his earlier years he would always glare at the few sheets of paper left on his desk at the end of the day. They simply meant another few minutes each sheet that he'd be stuck in his office instead of home with his family, but time changes things and over the years those who'd greet him at the door have passed on one by one. Now it was a bit of a relieve to see a few extra documents tossed on his desk as it would give him something to distract his wandering mind. Not to say he didn't have people he liked to see but given his position he could usually write of a visit as part of his duties.

Speaking of which one such person made a surprise visit of his own, making his presence known with the creak of the door opening. Glancing up Hiruzen let a gentle smile spread across his lips as he saw that familiar tuft of blond hair enter the room. "Is something on your mind?" Hiruzen asked the boy. It was odd that he would come to his office, in fact it was the first time he ever recalled seeing the boy here. Then there was the melancholy look the boy had, a look that pained the old man so. He knew the boy lived a tough live. In a village of hundreds, he lived completely isolated and unwanted save for the aging Hokage and his academy instructor, Iruka. He understood the loneliness and sadness that the boy must feel daily but to see it plainly written on the boy's face was a sight the man never wished to see.

Lifting his eyes from the floor Naruto gave a small, if not hollow, smile. "Can we... talk for a while...?"

And so, for the next couple of hours Hiruzen spent his time with the boy, brewing tea for them and moving over to the sofa set up along one of the walls. Hiruzen could tell there was something the boy wanted desperately to say but couldn't for one reason or another. Though eventually the boy mentioned what one of the instructors had told him after his failed graduation.

"Now why would Mizuki say that?" Hiruzen said aloud with a quizzical expression. He already had several guesses of course, none of which painted the man in a good light. "While learning a jutsu from that scroll would be a sign of your potential there's a reason those jutsu are sealed away. I'm sorry Naruto but there's no way I can let you see it." Hiruzen regretfully told the boy.

"That's fine. I probably know one or two of them already anyway..." Naruto remarked before taking a sip of tea.

"Come again?" Hiruzen replied without hesitation. Surely that was one of his jokes. Who would teach someone his age such justu?

Before the old man could say more Naruto continued with a soft voice. "My clone just finished up with Iruka-sensei... So, I probably don't have a whole lot of time left. You know how he is whenever I get in trouble. He must be freaking out right now." As he finished the blond reached into his pocket to pull out a thick bundle of papers.

"Naruto... what's this?" the kage questioned as he took the offered bundle. At this point worry was written all over his face.

"It's a bit sloppy, sorry. I didn't really know how best to write it, but..." Naruto started before trailing off, small tears welling up in his eyes as he looked at the man he'd happily call a grandfather.

It was like a knife plunging into his chest. "Naruto, my boy, whatever is troubling you we-" Hiruzen started as he reached out for the boy only for said boy to throw himself into his chest and wrap his arms around the man. With a few muttered thankyou's escaping the blond's mouth Hiruzen returned the embrace. The man swore to himself in that moment that he had to, no, needed to do better. However, it was also in that moment that the man witnessed the boy's body start to light up. If he had to compare it to something it would be like watching fireflies all gathered in one spot with flashes of light dancing in the darkness. Time seemed slow as the man watched the light intensify, and in response to the intensity the boy's body became translucent. What felt like an eternity probably only lasted a few seconds before the light, along with the boy, finally vanished. He was gone.

-AU World-

Quiet. The Hokage's office was silent as Naruto sat alone, wiping a few tears from his eyes. With his eyes cleared up the blond took his hands and gave his cheeks a few hard slaps and then jumped up to his feet. "Come on! You've made up your mind, no turning back now!" Naruto told himself before puffing out his chest.

Walking out of the tower Naruto made a B-line through the illuminated streets towards a small residential district. Once there he walked up to one of the small two-story buildings, took out a set of keys, and let himself in.

The next morning Naruto woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside his window. The sun was low in the sky as it shone over the land. With a yawn Naruto sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Dragging himself out of bed he grabbed a change of clothes and made his way to the bathroom. While in the shower he could hear the door open.

"Naruto? When did you come in, I didn't hear anything." a man's voice came from the other side of the curtain.

"Last night. You and mom were asleep, and I didn't want to wake you." Naruto replied as he lathered his hair.

"Must have been pretty late. Kushina feel asleep on the couch waiting for you to walk through the door." Minato mentioned with a slight chuckle remembering his drowsy wife trying and failing to stay awake.

"Ah, sorry. I had to take care of some things first." Naruto told him.

"Out celebrating I see." the older blond remarked with a smirk as he looked himself over in the mirror.

...

"Actually, I failed the graduation exam."

"I... see." Minato replied as his smirk vanished. He knew how important it was to Naruto to pass and had hoped that for his sake that he'd pass, despite his own feelings on the matter. To hear otherwise was disheartening. "So how long will you be staying this time?" the man asked hoping to change the subject.

"Actually, I was hoping to stay here... permanently." Naruto admitted and Minato's eyes lit up.

"Of course! You're welcome to stay as long as you wish!" Minato exclaimed, elated, before quickly reigned himself in. "But ah... are you sure about this? You've always been adamant about living over there."

"I'm sure. This is what I want." the blond reaffirmed.

"Wonderful! I'll let Kushina know. She'll be so happy." and with that the man left to inform his wife with a skip in his pace.

That's right, he was an outsider who decided to make this world his home.


	2. Chapter 2

**And here's chapter two. Hope you enjoy.**

**(Marshalanime does not own Naruto)**

He noticed it when he was five, though he'd probably been doing it his whole life. It was an innate power within him that when built up to a certain point would pass him back and forth between two different worlds. These two worlds seemed to share the same history, more or less. It was only during the time of the Second Great War that things differed from what they could piece together. Some people who died in one world were alive and well in another for example. Obviously, this would lead to changes and with each pacing generations the two worlds drifted further apart. It was on one particular day when Naruto first realized that something was off.

"And just who do you think you are Blondie?" Some girl he'd never met before demanded from him as he stood between her and another girl on the verge of tears. They both seemed to be his age, more or less. The one shouting had dark blue heir in a princess cut, perfectly named to match her "Grandeur than thou" attitude. Her pale violet eyes seemed like they were looking down on anyone in their sight. Meanwhile the sniffling girl on the ground behind him had short platinum blond hair with several loose bangs covering up one of her teal eyes.

"Who do you think you are?" Naruto shot back with a pointed finger. "You can't just go around yelling at people till they cry! What's wrong with you?" the blond roared heatedly.

The shear fact that Naruto didn't recognize her seemed to genuinely shock the little girl and flustered she blurted out "You jerk! I am Hinata Hyuga, heir to the presi-PRESTIGIOUS Hyuga clan!"

...

After a moment of silence and the blond blankly stared at her Hinata, who'd begone to steam with a red face, turned on her heel and took off. "I was only trying to help, IDIOT!" she shouted as she disappeared into the distance.

'What a weird girl...' the blond thought. After a moment, "Oh right!" Naruto spun around. "Are you alright?" Naruto asked while reaching out a hand. His smile faltered a little and he jolted his hand back when he saw the girl reflexively scoot away from him. Not one to stay discouraged he went to try again.

"What are you doing to Ino?" A new voice entered the scene along with a pair of small feet slamming into the blond boy's face. This led to him falling backward and smacking the back of his off the hard playground with his assailant landing on his exposed stomach after losing her momentum.

"Ah! Sakura, wait! He was just helping!" Ino frantically called out to her pink haired friend as she sat up, now straddling the boy she attacked.

"Wha...?" blinking at her friend Sakura stared with a gob smacked look before the words hit. "Oh my god!" the little girl shouted as she did her best to jump off the blond. When she turned to inspect the damage she'd done to the innocent kid a look of horror crossed both her and Ino's faces when they saw him out cold with blood coming from the bridge of his nose. Though it was really just a small cut. "I"M SORRY!" the girl ended up shouting into the heavens as she cradled him in her arms with tears of her own forming in the corner of her eyes.

When Naruto woke up he found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling with a soft blanket draped over his body.

"Finally awake I see." Yet another voice drew his attention as he turned his head to see a woman with short blond hair with a large, single bang that fell between her green eyes sitting in a chair across the room. Apparently, this was her living room and he'd been sleeping on her couch. "Sakura! Ino! Your little friends awake!" the woman raised a hand up to the side of her mouth and called out.

Shortly after the sound of footsteps quickly approached the room before two girls finally rushed in. Before he could even properly sit up Naruto found a handful of flowers being shoved into his face. "I'm sorry for kicking you!" the pinket blurted out with her eyes squeezed shut.

Tentatively reaching up to part the flowers being offered to him Naruto couldn't think of a single thing to say. This was all just too weird to him, and why was she apologizing? No one ever apologized to him. Looking from the pinket who seemed frozen to the spot, seeming to be waiting for a response before she even dares open her eyes, to the blond girl from before he could see her shy away from his gaze.

Glancing to the side Ino brought up a hand to scratch at her cheek. "Th-They're carnations. They're supposed to be good for apologies." Not at all what he was wondering but it explained the flowers he guessed.

An awkward silence was quickly starting to form when a jovial voice thankfully cut through it. "You should've seen our faces when our little girl dragged you in through the front door. To think my Sakura would be brining boys home already! Ghahahahaha!" Following the voice was a man with dark pink hair shaped like a cherry-blossom with sideburns that made a sharp angle into a mustache.

"Is now really the time for your jokes? The boy was out cold for an hour!" The man's assumed wife responded in clear irritation. Though it was obvious from their expressions that the kids had no idea there was supposed to be a joke in there.

"Now, now, Mebuki." The man began with a 'Tut-Tut' motion of his hand. "We patched the boy right up so there's nothing to worry about. No harm no fouls as they say!"

"Kizashi" Mebuki heaved a sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Could you try to take this seriously?" she asked.

"Come now! You know how kids are, they get bruised and banged up all the time. I'm sure by this time tomorrow they'll be the best of friends." Kizashi said with confidence.

'Friends?' the word reverberated through the blond's head as the two girls got swept into the adult's back and forth. His chest swelled with hope for a moment. It was something he'd only ever dreamt of and now the possibility was being thrown around so casually. But no. Something wasn't right. This was all wrong. Why were they being so nice? People would ignore him and pull their kids away when he was around. None of it made any sense!

Blurting out some excuse or another Naruto jumped out from under the blanket and took off. He didn't register what they said, he just made a B-line for the closest door and ran. Then he continued to run, and run, and run. He ran until he hadn't the stamina to continue. Exhausted and out of breath Naruto stumbled over to the closest wall, let his back fall into it, and slid down till he sat on the ground. As his breathing slowly calmed down Naruto took the time to watch the people walking by on the street. 'Why?' was all he could think. Their eyes weren't cold and distant like they've always been. In fact, there were plenty that looked, worried? Were they worried about him? Why? Because he looked so ragged and out of breath with a bandage covering his nose? They'd never cared before, so why now?

"You're not looking so good. What's your name?" A man's voice reached his ears, the first of the concerned onlookers who'd come over to check on him. Looking up Naruto took in his appearance. A shinobi if the vest and headband meant what he thought. Though the headband was unique in that it had additional cloth that covered up his left eye. He had short black hair and despite how scared up the right side of his face was he had a very approachable air to him. "That's a pretty flower you've got there." the man told him as he knelt to be closer to eye level.

'Flower?' Glancing down at his left-hand Naruto saw what the man was talking about. It would look like he'd grabbed one of the flowers in his rush to get out Sakura's house. 'Ino, was it?' She'd called it a carnation, didn't she?

"Not one for conversation, huh?" the man responded to Naruto's silence. Though the boy wasn't silent for long, or rather his stomach wasn't. "Hungry, are you?" the man said with a chuckle.

"A-Am not!" Naruto blurted out with flushed cheeks. Though another grumble from his stomach said otherwise.

Patting his pocket, the man told him "I've got enough money laying around for the both of us. So how about it, want to keep big brother Obito company?"

Everything was weird, but it wasn't a bad kind of weird Naruto decided. So, deciding to just go with the flow the young boy excepted Obito's over. Taking the outstretched hand Naruto was helped up to his feet before being led off. "...Naruto..."

"Hm?" The man responded as he glanced down at the boy clutching his hand.

"My name. It's Naruto Uzumaki ttebayo!" the boy happily cheered with a big grin. In that moment, unnoticed by the boy, Obito's expression stiffened for just a second.

"That sounds like a wonderful name." the man told the boy.

When the two of them came to a stop they were outside a small shop with the sign above declaring it as Ichiraku's Ramen. Not that Naruto could read it. With a big stride Obito led the boy inside as he bushed the short curtain aside with his free arm. "I hope you've got something ready old man cause we're starving!" Obito loudly declared once he saw the ramen chief standing behind the counter.

"Well, haven't seen your face in a while. I was starting to worry that you'd forgotten about us." Teuchi joked with his frequent customer.

"They've been running me raged lately. It's just one mission after another." Obito said as he helped Naruto onto one of the stools.

"That's what happens when you become a bigshot "Mr. Phantom Shinobi"." the chief said as he grabbed menus for the two of them. "And who might this be? Surely, he's not yours. You'd never be able to keep your mouth shut if Rin were pregnant." Teuchi remarked as his focus shifted towards the blond, ignoring the fact that Obito just about fell out of his seat at the comment.

"Hey now! That's not something to joke about!" the shinobi blurted out. Though he was ignored in favor of Naruto's introduction.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" the blond proudly declared as he took the offered menu.

"Names Teuchi Ichiraku, and this is my daughter-" Teuchi replied as he pointed his thumb over towards a brunet standing on a stepstool and stirring a large pot of ramen.

"Ayame! Nice to meet you." the girl, maybe twice his age, happily finished for her father as she looked over her shoulder at the blond boy.

"Yeah!" the blond happily said.

It didn't take long for Obito to realize that Naruto couldn't read, what with him squinting his eyes at the piece of cardboard in his hand repeatedly. So, he'd ordered two different flavors and offered Naruto the one he thought tasted better. From there they enjoyed a relaxed conversation with each other and the stand owners. It was just small talk, until...

"Hey, aren't the faces on the mountain weird?" Naruto voiced his confusion after taking notice of the stone faces through a slit in the curtains.

"Weird how?" Obito asked as he two glanced over at the cliff face. "They seem normal to me."

"It's the fourth one, isn't the hair all wrong? It's supposed to be all spikey." the blond said as while running his fingers through his hair as though to make his spikey hair even spikier.

At this the other three in the stand all turned to Naruto with questioning looks.

"Lord Dan has always had long straight hair for as long as I can remember." Teuchi said with a curt nod.

"Dan?" the boy responded.

"That's the fourth Hokages's name. Everyone knows that." Ayame answered this time.

"Ooooh! So, he'd the guy who died protecting the village." Naruto asserted as though coming to a great revelation. To be far he doesn't know the name of any Hokage, even the kind old man who visits him from time to time.

This nearly sent the others into an uproar.

"Dead? What are you talking about?"

"I saw him just the other day!"

"What would make you think such a thing?"

Now it was time for Naruto to be confused and agitated. "But everyone knows that the Forth Hokage gave his live to save the village when the Ninetails attacked!" Naruto huffed.

"I think someone's pulling your leg." Teuchi said with a scowl and crossed arms. He was internally fuming that someone would teach such a young and impressionable child such a lie.

"Yeah, the village has never been attacked by whatever this Ninetails thing is." Ayame added.

"The old man wouldn't lie to me like that!" the blond retorted in an irritated tone and, an admittedly adorable, glare.

"Now, now, let's all calm down." Obito interjected with a nervous grin. "Why don't we just go back to enjoying our meal, k?"

"But-"

"We can talk about it later." Obito cut the boy of immediately, resulting in the blond pouting but ultimately giving in. He was furious that they accuse the old man of lying but he also couldn't risk his free food.

Things settled back down after that and they soon finished their food and left just as cheerful as when they'd arrived.

"It's getting kind of late. Want me to walk you home?" Obito suggested as the two of them walked down the street together as the sun drew closer and closer to the horizon. It wasn't until he felt a tug on his arm that Obito realized the boy had stopped in response to his question. When he turned to see what was up, he felt a twinch of pain in his chest. The blond was just standing there with a pained look in his eyes, just staring at the carnation he'd been carrying around for a while know. Words weren't needed. Obito saw everything he needed in those broken eyes. Without any more hesitation the man asked a question that would brighten up the boy's day.

"Do you want to stay with me?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter three. Also, regarding the harem that's planned I can't say I have a solid list yet. At this stage it's more of a vague understanding of who I want and who I don't want in it.**

**(Marshalanime does not own Naruto)**

"See ya later." Naruto called out as he left the house. With renewed vigor in his step the blond was soon racing through the streets. As he went around the village there were plenty of people who recognized him and greeted him with warm smiles. Unlike in his world his father never became Hokage, but his actions in the last war were the same so he's seen as a hero regardless making him the son of a hero. The praise could get too be a little too much sometimes if he was honest, but it was better than the alternative.

With his first stop of the day fast approaching Naruto put on the breaks as he called out to the girl in front of the store. "Morning Ino!"

This girl, wearing a purple jacket and dark pants, looked up at the sudden mention of her name and gave the blond a sweat smile. "Good morning Naruto." She responded as she watered the flowers outside her parent's shop. Some people were more different than others in this world. Ino here was an example of the more drastic of the changes. The Ino in his world was loud, confident, and confrontational while this Ino was soft spoken, timid, and shied away from fights. "Are you feeling well today? I don't mind taking a break if you want to sit down for a while." Ino offered as she set the watering can down next to the potted plants.

Right, his "Sickness". There had to be an excuse for why no one had ever seen him before the age of five or why he'd disappear for days at a time. Claiming he had an illness was the easiest option. It was easier to pass off since Kushina really was pregnant with "him" at one point, but there were complications with the pregnancy. It's not an easy topic for them to talk about.

"No need to worry about me Ino. I feel fine today!" Naruto told her as he patted his right shoulder while rotating his right arm.

"That's good!" Ino gentle cheered as she clasped her hands together. For as long as Naruto could remember Ino had been this sweat girl who'd look out for him when she could. In fact, her and Sakura were two of his first friends. Boy was Kizashi proud when he called that.

"So, what do you have in stock?" Naruto asked the girl as he looked over the flowers, still glistening with fresh water.

"Looking for the usual?" Ino asked with a nod from the boy answering. "That will be just a moment." She happily said as she led Naruto into the store. A quick exchange and goodbyes later and Naruto was on his was with a small bouquet of flowers.

'I just need to drop these off then pay sensei a visit.' Were Naruto's thoughts when a familiar bark stopped him. Looking down at his feet he saw a white dog with brown patches on his floppy ears. "Hey Akamaru, how have you been?" Naruto asked the little guy as he knelt down to pet him.

"We could ask you the same. How long has it been since you've seen the sun?" the pups partner butted in as he caught up to Akamaru. Glancing up the first thing that caught the blond's eyes were the bag of pet food and big metal pan resting under the boy's arm. Seeing this Kiba decided to answer the unasked question. "There's been an increase in the number of strays gathering at the park. Since I've got the day off, I figured I'd head over there and give them a nice meal to chow down on."

"Need help with that?" Naruto asked as he stood up.

"You sure? It looks like you already have plans." Kiba responded as he tilted his head toward the bouquet.

"It's fine. I'm not on a schedule or anything." Naruto told him eliciting a sigh from the other boy.

"Aw man, if I knew you'd be helping out I would've brought another bag with me." Kiba lamented as he pressed the bottom of his palm against his forehead.

"That's fine. We'll just stop by a shop on the way there." Naruto said with a pat on Kiba's shoulder.

"I'm not made of money ya know!" Kiba immediately shot back as Naruto started to take off down the street.

"You can pay me back later!" was the blond's reply.

"Aauugg, fine! But don't expect it any time soon, ya got it!" Kiba shouted back as he and Akamaru raced after the blond.

Once all the bowls had been filled and spread out in a small clearing next to the stone laid path Naruto, Kiba, and Akamaru found a spot on a near by hill to lay down on and watch their work play out.

"A job well done!" Kiba happily congratulated himself with Akamaru adding in a bark of his own.

"Yeah, it feels nice." Naruto said as he watched all some of the local cats and dogs gather around the offered food.

…

"Hey Naruto?" Kiba interrupted the calm that had washed over the area.

"Yeah?"

"I've been meaning to ask for a while now, but just what do you plan to do?" the tattooed faced boy asked.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You've never attended classes at the academy cause you're always sick, yeah?" Kiba summarized and Naruto responded with a nod. "But you're still super strong so I'm sure they'd make you a genin like the rest of us if you asked."

"Oh, well…" He'd always intended to become a shinobi back in his world. He'd never seriously considered it here, but maybe.

"Looks like you guys found a pretty good spot. Mind if we join?"

Naruto already knew who that voice belonged too. Sure enough Shikamaru and Choji were standing at the top of the hill when he craned his neck back to see.

"Find a spot and sit down. The more the merrier." Kiba told the pair, his previous question going unanswered as the pair came down to them. With that the group of friends sat around enjoying one another's company. Memories like this, they're what pushed Naruto to his recent decision.

After a while of cloud watching and chatting the strays had finished off most of the food and headed off for who knows where. Things were nice and calm when "NARUTO!" a shout came from over the hill.

"Looks like your girlfriend's here." Choji remarked with a smirk.

"She's not my-" Naruto was attempting to refute as he sat up when the Hyuga princess came jumping over the top of the hill, byakugan active.

Landing on her knees the girl slid down the hill toward her target, wrapping her arms around the boy's shoulders as she slammed into his back. "Found you!" the girl happily said before her momentum sent them both tumbling down the hill. Fortunately, Naruto had the right of mind to toss his flowers to one of the boys so no need to worry about that.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered with his focus staying on the sky above. Meanwhile the other two were getting a chuckle out of their buddy's dilemma.

"Gah! Hinata!" Naruto squirmed in the girls hold as she rubbed her cheek into his shoulder blade. This was yet another example of the more noticeable differences. The Hinata in this world was, rough to say the least. Overconfident, rash, and hot headed could all be used to describe her. She refused to be ignored and always took charge, even if she really shouldn't sometimes. Whereas the other Hinata was, well, to put it bluntly he often wondered if he only noticed her because he knew this Hinata.

"Does the couple need some alone time?" Kiba heckled from the sideline.

"Can it Kiba! I don't need tou making Naruto uncomfortable." Hinata shot back, letting the blond go in the process.

"Yeah, cause I'm the one making him uncomfortable." Kiba muttered under his breath while Naruto stood up and brushed himself off.

"You say something?" Hinata questioned from her spot at the bottom of the hill.

"Nope!" was the boy's quick reply as he adverted his gaze.

Looking up into the sky as he made his way up the hill again Naruto noticed how high the sun had risen. 'Has it been late long already?' Reaching down Naruto picked up the bouquet Choji had been guarding. "See ya guys later." Naruto said to the guys as he turned to head back down the hill.

"Thanks for the help."

"See ya Naruto."

"Later."

Three of the four friends gathered said their goodbyes as the blond walked off. The fourth friend however, "Where are we going?" This wasn't a surprise. Hinata had always had a habit of sticking to his side like this ever since they'd become friends.

"The Memorial Stone." Naruto answered her question.

"Oh, I see…" Hinata replied with a little less enthusiasm.

Naruto had been making occasional visits throughout the years. He didn't personally know any of the names written on the stone. Not really. Though there were a few names he recognized from his world. They weren't all that different from how they were in his world from what he's heard of them. If they were still around, he'd imagine that they'd be important people to him here just like they were over there, and so he makes these trips to pay his respects. Luckily no one would seriously question him for leaving flowers at a memorial stone, so he's never had to explain it like that.

Not wanting the mood to turn somber Naruto slipped a flower from the bouquet and offered it to the girl walking with him. She probably wanted to ask for one from the start, but it'd be inappropriate considering what they'd been bought for.

Taking it with a gentle smile Hinata pinched a portion of the stem off before fixing the flower into her hair. "Thank you." The girl said with a faint tinge of pink on her cheeks.

After reentering the village streets, the two of them came upon a familiar sight.

"Please, don't cry for my sake. Tears don't suit your pretty face." One Sasuke Uchiha said as he caressed a girl's cheek.

In his world Sasuke Uchiha was the second son of the Uchiha clan's head, always ranked top of the class, and gathered plenty of fans. These were all true for this world's version as well. The one noticeable difference was in how they treated the girls crushing on them.

"Oh, for the love of." Hinata muttered with a furrowed brow. Intent on ending this circus act she proceeded to stomp her way over the raven-haired Casanova. "You REALLY shouldn't waste your tear on this piece of human garbage." Hinata asserted as she slapped Sasuke's hand away from the girl's face.

"Hinata, lovely as ever I see." Sasuke remarked with dead eyes as the Hyuga placed herself between him and his soon-to-be EX.

"How many girls does that make for this month, huh? Two, three, more?" Hinata questioned.

"Hinata, Hinata, love isn't something that can be quantified." Sasuke responded.

"Wha!" the girl behind Hinata gasped as the Hyuga's glare intensive.

"You human piece of filth!" Hinata barked out as the girl took off, saying something along the line of "How could you?"

"A wai-aaand she's gone…" Sasuke tried to call out but was to late. Rounding back on Hinata, "What's your problem?"

"MY problem is standing right here!" Hinata shout back. "You're a complete disgrace! Just through your headband away and find a nice heavy rock to live under already!" Hinata shouted as sparks began to fly between the two.

"Annoying harpy! I broke up with her because I'm a shinobi now! I need to take the job seriously!" Sasuke glared right back with gritted teeth.

"Too little to late don't you think?"

"Better a flirt then a stalker!"

"Who's stalking who?"

"You know who I'm talking about! Stop taking advantage of Naruto's generosity and leave him be!"

"Say that again! I dare YOU!"

"LEAVE! NARUTO! ALO-"

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Naruto finally interjected as he pushed the two apart. Every. Single. Time! It's like mixing oil and water with these two.

"You heard him, get lost!" Hinata barked as she wrapped herself around one of Naruto's arms, glare never leaving her foe.

"Yeah, I heard MY best friend. So why don't YOU move along so WE can catch up." Sasuke responded as he hooked and arm around Naruto's other arm.

'I'm so not dealing with this.' Naruto thought to himself as he could feel the tug-of-war starting. Without a moment to spare Naruto slipped away from the pair and took to the rooftops. As he took off, he could already hear the argument firing back up.

Now that he could go at his own pass Naruto soon arrived at the Memorial Stone. Though even here he found a familiar face.

"I see you picked this assignment again." Naruto remarked as he walked up to the man cleaning off the large cut stone. He didn't have to worry about startling him. He was sure the man noticed him long before he came into the clearing.

"Yeah" Obito made a short reply as he continued his work. Cleaning the Momorial Stone was a simple D-rank mission gennin straight out of the academy could do. So, some would find it odd that a shinobi of Obito's caliber would snatch it up whenever he could. "They appreciate it. I'm sure." Obito commented as Naruto placed the flowers at the foot of the memorial.

"… You think? I'm not so sure. After all, I'm just some stranger dropping off flowers when I have the time." Naruto muttered as he knelt in from of the stone.

"Is that your stubbornness talking again?" Obito asked with a small smile and a far-off look in his eye. Not much was said between them during their time there, and eventually they both left in peaceful silence.

With his task complete Naruto only had one other place he wanted to visit today. Unlike before there weren't any distractions or detours and soon Naruto found himself standing in front of Konoha's largest research facility. It was placed at the base of the cliff the Hokage stone faces were carved from and from the outside it looked like an ordinary storage shed. Most of the building was carved into the mountain and could be confusing for a first-time visitor to find their way around. Fortunately for Naruto he knew the place like the back of his hand and soon found the room he wanted.

Opening the door Naruto could see a sole occupant sitting at his desk and reviewing reports from his staff members. His youthful appearance belied his age, his attire was that of an ordinary shinobi except for his choice to swap out the standard green vest for a white lab coat, and his long black hair was pulled back to keep it from getting in the way.

"Orochimaru-sensei." Naruto gently called out to get the man's attention.

"Hm? Oh, Naruto, I was wondering when you'd stop by." Orochimaru said as he placed the document in hand to the side.

"Already knew I was back, huh? And here I thought I could surprise you." Naruto replied with a sheepish grin.

"Word travels fast my boy." The man told him as he got up from his chair. "Though I am glad you've come to pay me a visit. I wanted to talk to you about the project you've been working on." Orochimaru said as he walked over to the blond.

"You looked over it did you?" Naruto asked with a grin.

"I have. I also jotted down some notes on possible solutions to that irritating roadblock you seem to have reaches. Why don't we go take a look?"

"Ah, you noticed…?" Naruto asked as his grin dropped. Despite all the many, many, hours he's spent here helping Orochimaru he was still far away from being able to half the things he could do. There were many times he'd had to ask some of the staff or even Orochimaru himself for help when he'd reached some kind of problem that was comparatively simple for them to handle. It was a bit disheartening at time, but even his failures fascinated Orochimaru. Even if the idea was impossible from the start Orochimaru would encourage him to see just what kind of work around his mind would come up with to reach his goal. Every time he'd fail Orochimaru would be there to help him back onto his feet.

"It's easy to tell when you're frustrated." Was all Orochimaru said as he walked past the boy.

"Oh, come on! It isn't that obvious!" Naruto called out as he followed after the man.

Time seemed to fly by while they worked, but before long the sun had set, and it was time to head home. This was all fine and all however, something was off. Walking through the streets Naruto couldn't help but make repeated glances to the side.

"Is something wrong?" Orochimaru asked after the umpteenth time the blond's gaze shifted to him. He'd left his lab coat at the research facility, so he was just wearing the dark blue pants and long-sleeved shirt standard to the village shinobi.

"Why are you walking me home? You never walk me home." Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I simply have business in this direction. Don't think anything of it." The man responded.

"We're almost at my house! It's right over there!" Naruto blurted out as he pointed at said house less than fifty feet from them.

"Yes, we are." The man replied, leaving the boy to simmer as they kept walking.

As Naruto went to open the door he began to say "I don't know what you're up to bu-" and as soon as the door swung open the boy was rendered speechless.

""WELCOME HOME!""

Standing in the foyer waiting for him were most of the handful of people who knew his origin. All with smiles on their faces. His parents, Obito, Rin, Dan, all of them were holding up a banner reiterating what they'd all cheered. 'Welcome home Naruto!'

His statue act only came to an end when he felt a hand ruffle up his hair. Tilting his head back he saw his sensei smiling at him. "You're home, Naruto."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four complete and ready to upload. Hope you all enjoy!**

**(Marshalanime9 does not own Naruto)**

With a turn of the handle and a small push Naruto opened the door separating the hallway he stood in and the Hokage's office. "You wanted to see me?" Naruto asked when he saw the white-haired man sitting behind the desk.

"Yes." Dan replied as he reached down and pulled open a drawer. As soon as Naruto saw the small bundle of letters Naruto knew what the man wanted.

"I'll have it taken care of before you know it." Naruto told the man at he took the bundle.

"Thank you." The man softly said with a gentle smile.

After leaving the office it was straight back home to prepare. As he rounded on the small gate outside their home, he saw his mother leaving.

"Just in time. I was just about to pick some things up for dinner. Anything in particular you want?" Kushina asked.

"Sorry mom, I have a stack of letters to deliver so I won't be home tonight, or… for the next few days." Naruto informed the woman and felt a tinge of pain when he noticed a very brief flash of sadness on his mother's face.

"Oh, that's fine! I'll go and get my things together!" Kushina enthusiastically said with a fist pump.

"You really don't need too…" Naruto said with a nervous smile as the woman turned to head back into the house. "What about dinner? You still need to buy groceries, right?"

"It'll be fine! I can whip something up from what we still have in the kitchen when I get back. Besides, Minato knows how to cook so He's fine even if we take a while." Kushina replied.

Meanwhile, back at the Hokage's tower Dan was holding a meeting with his council in a small soundproof room. In the center of the room was a small rectangular table with sofas on two sides and chairs taking the other two sides. Dan sat at one of the chairs, opposite him in the other chair sat Minato, to his left was Orochimaru, and to his right sat Fugaku Uchiha.

"Naruto will be out of the village for the next few days." Dan stated.

"That will make it easier to use his "illness" as an excuse." Orochimaru added.

"But if we keep doing pulling the same trick then our opponents will wisen up to it. I'm sure they're already growing tired of us dodging the issue." Minato surmised.

"We wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't brought your son with you on all of those assignments." Fugaku remarked with a sigh. In response Minato had the decency to apologize.

The situation they were in? Marriage interviews and/or thinly veiled marriage interviews for one Naruto Uzumaki. It wouldn't be so terrible if little Naruto had simply caught the eye of a little lass while accompanying his father on his good will visits but that wasn't the case. The world had changed since the last war came to an end. During that time Amegakure and a group known as Akatsuki formed an alliance to work toward world peace. Over time many smaller nations joined them and even the five great nations couldn't overlook them at a certain point. The system in place between the nations has indeed reduced the risk of outright warfare. However, old grudges were still there, and people were constantly seeking any way to get an edge on the opposition.

"That boy has a knack for gathering people around him. They believe in him and want to follow after him." Fugaku said. It didn't matter were Minato took the boy, he helped people out, butted heads, and always left with a new group of friends waving him off. In this day and age when all the big international battles were won and lost depending on who you were close with and who you'd previously pissed off Naruto's innate people skills were highly sought after. Add his heritage into the mix and the situation became clear. Naruto was a prize that other nations wanted to seize and bend to their will.

"The requests are coming in more frequently. We can't just refuse them all." Dan sighed.

"We're nearly finished with our counter measures but well need a bit of cooperation on Naruto's part before going any further." Orochimaru said as he pointed his gaze toward Minato.

"I… haven't mentioned it to him yet." Minato admitted as he adverted his eyes. This garnered a chorus of groans from the other three. "He's never shown an interest in dating before, so it's never come of naturally. Now that it's being forced it just feels unnatural." Minato told them.

"If you can't brooch the subject then I'll have Kushina handle it." Dan informed him.

"Understood." The blond man replied with a hung head.

"In the meantime, we'll have to rely on my boy and the Hyuga girl to keep the more "unsavory" of his suitors at bay." Fugaku said. It wasn't that any of them had told them to do that mind you, those two were simply overprotective of the boy.

Outside of the village found Naruto and Kushina travelling away from the village. As opposed to his typical orange outfit Naruto wore a dark blue-grey robe with grey lining and a fur collar and a tattered grey-blue cape emblazoned with a mandala comprised of nine reddish-brown circles of varying sizes atop a larger green-grey circle. To top off his new appearance he wore a white kitsune mask and had his hair color changed from golden blond to pitch black.

Such a drastic change in appearance wasn't without porpoise. The recipient of these letters was in the other world. His identity over there needed to stay hidden, especially now that he'd abandoned the village. It was also for the recency of his departure that they were travelling farther from the village than usual for the jump. Once they were a suitable distance from the village Naruto came to a stop along the dirt road, Kushina stopping beside him.

"This should do." Naruto said as he turned toward his mother. Before he'd been able to fully face her, he'd already been pulled into her embrace.

"Stay safe, and don't do anything reckless, okay?" the woman said as she gently stroked her hand over his head.

"It'll be fine mom. I'll be back before you can even miss me." Naruto assured her as he returned the hug.

"Impossible, I miss you already." Kushina told him with a soft chuckle as his body started to glow.

-Original World-

"I'll see you when I get back." Naruto said and then he found himself alone on the side of the road. Lowering his hands, he took a brief look around to see if anyone was in view. There were a few restrictions with his power. One was that he couldn't use it to travel to a part of the world he wasn't in. For example, if he used this power while standing in front of Konoha's main gate his destination would be that exact same spot in front of the gate in the other world. Another restriction was his inability to take any other living creature with him.

Feeling confident that he was save Naruto slipped a thumb under his mask and bit through his skin. With a sufficient amount of blood drawn he went through a set of hand signs before a cloud of smoke puffed up from the ground before him. From the smoke appeared a white fox the size of a typical housecat. It's eyes seemed to be permanently shut with a quarter sized black dot above each eye, a sizable jar of ink tied around its neck with a thick red rope, a red open vest with pouches stuffed full of paper slips and a white circle on the back with the kanji for fox written in it, and the tip of its bushy tail was stained black with ink.

"Been a while Naru. Let me guess, we're looking for Tsunade again?" the fox greeted.

"Sorry Kyukitchi, I feel like I only ever call you for this." Naruto apologized.

"Nah, think nothing of it." Kyukitchi said as he reached for a slip of paper. Dropping it on the ground his tail curled around to dip the tip on his ink pot to use like a brush. "I've gotten pretty good at finding the girl so this shouldn't take long at all." He said as he quickly finished up his seal.

"Thanks." Naruto told him as he formed a single hand sign. "Nine Mask Svaha: Suzaku" Naruto called out the name of the jutsu and above him formed a ring with the kanji for vermilion in the center. From the circle emerged a large bird with elegant and dramatic plumage wearing a similar mask to the one Naruto currently did.

"You really know how to travel with style." Kyukitchi commented as he hopped onto the bird with the now floating tag making circles around him. Once Naruto was on the creature spread its large wings and a few flaps later it had taken to the sky.

The tracking tag had a limited range, about nine to ten miles. So, the first day went about uneventfully as the pair soared through the skies above the Land of Fire.


	5. Chapter 5

**Haven't been on in a while but I finally have chapter five done. Hope you all enjoy!**

**(Marshalanime9 does not own Naruto)**

Leaves rustled silently as several bodies dashed through the treetops. Each person wore the same outfit, black fabric overlaid with grey armor and wearing white animal masks. They had one goal as they scoured the countryside, find, and capture their target.

"Smelling good Naru!" The white fox remarked as he salivated over the cooking pot Naruto was tending to. It was midday of their third day searching. So far, they hadn't had even the slightest bit of luck finding Tsunade, but on the bright side they've figured out where she isn't.

"I've gotten pretty good at this; I'll have you know!" The boy bragged with a puffed-out chest.

"Tell me about it. When we first met your cooking could barely be called food." Kyukitchi's remark instantly deflated the boy's chest.

"Do you have to put it like that?" Naruto muttered as he stirred the pot with less enthusiasm. He was met with chuckles.

Those chuckles quickly died out when a familiar whirl reached their ears. Jumping out of the way the pair dodged a massive shuriken that flew past them in the small clearing. The sharpened metal embedded itself into the trunk of a tree as the pair landed on opposite ends of the clearing.

An annoyed click drew their attention and when Naruto spotted the man standing in a nearby tree, he was grateful that he hadn't removed his mask to cook. The man, despite the cuts and scuffs, clearly wore a Konoha flax jacket and had shoulder-length white hair. The only thing that differed from the boy's memory of the man was the missing headband that he always wore like a bandana.

"Not as dumb as you look," The man said as he loosened a second large shiriken from his back. "But you're still going to die! So just lay down and give me your supplies!" And with that outburst the second shiriken came soring towards Naruto.

Without batting an eye Naruto reached into his pouch to pull out a single shiriken before jumping over the coming weapon. As the shiriken passed under him Naruto let fly his own before going through a series of hand signs, finishing the jutsu before his feet landed back on the ground. In an instant the lone shiriken turned into a torrent of dozens.

Seeing this Mizuki leaned back, sticking firmly to the side of the branch to use it as a shield. The moment the thunks of metal meeting wood stopped he dropped to the ground with a kunai in hand. "Damn you!" The man bellowed as he charged forward. Only inches from his prey he went to slash the boy apart, only to feel a solid whack to the back of the head and then nothing.

"What's this guy doing out here?" The clone that just knocked the man out pondered as Mizuki unceremoniously dropped.

"He probably ran for the hills once he was found out but come on. Did the village really let this guy slip out?" The original Naruto remarked.

"Wonder later! We're about to have company!" Kyukitchi barked. Like Naruto he too jumped into action right away, pulling out several seals to set up a sensory barrier to sniff out reinforcements.

"Shit!" Naruto cussed as he dispersed his clone. "Lunch is off. I'll call you back later" Naruto said as he released the summoning jutsu. As the fox vanished in a cloud of smoke Naruto's body became shrouded in light before vanishing himself.

Moments later eight figures dropped into the clearing, members of Konoha's elite ANBU. It didn't take them long to apprehend the unconscious Mizuki, but they were now left with questions. Mizuki didn't just knock himself out. Splitting into groups of four one group proceeded to take the fugitive back to the village while the other stayed behind to search for whoever it was that fought him.

-AU World-

"So, this is Konoha, huh?" Eight feet of towering muscle remarked as he crossed the village's threshold.

"The sun sure is bright here." Short in comparison to his friend but average to everyone else was an average build man with short brown hair remarked as he shielded his eyes with his hand.

Continuing to walk unlike her two male companions was a young woman looking to be about fourteen or fifteen at a glance. "One of the might great nation's villages huh." She remarked as she looked up to the five hokage carved into the mountain. "So full of themselves." She said with a smirk.

Their clothing and headbands clearly marked them as shinobi from Kusagakure.

"Were supposed to meet up with the Hokage before doing anything else." The man of average build reminded the group as to walked bast his younger companion. Soon followed by the giant, the girl, and a few passes behind by their last companion. Short and covered from head to toe in a dark green cloak in was impossible to tell what they looked like underneath.

"This should be far enough." Naruto said to himself as he flew over the forest on his masked bird. It'd been two hours since that chance run in with his old sensei and the whole time he'd been flying at top speed. He was about to find a good place to slip into the other world when something caught his eye out in the distance. Turning direction Naruto made a B-line for it.

"What… is this…?" Now that he was hovering over the area Naruto couldn't quite grasp what he was looking at. Below was a large swath of forest missing, and in its place was a blanket of putrid black sludge. Not a single blade of grass dared to grow here, and the smell had Naruto forcing down his breakfast even from thirty meters up. It was as if the forest had a large puss filled wound staring him in the face.

As much as he didn't want to get near it he wouldn't learn anything from up here. Preparing to hold his breath and promising himself to get a gasmask when he got home Naruto's masked bird started to descend. Now that he was flying only a few feet above the ground Naruto scanned over the area for anything of note. That's when a small glint drew his attention. A headband. Pulling it out of the muck Naruto brushed off the front to see what symbol was engraved in it.

"Why was the Land of Woods this far into the Land of Fire?" Was the question that left his lips as re recalled whose shinobi wore this. They were a small nation that lacked a proper hidden village. Most of their shinobi came from scattered clans that would take shifts guarding the capital and Daimyo.

It is going to driving him mad not knowing, but he wasn't equipped to figure this out. Pulling out a small sealing scroll Naruto unravels it and seals the headband inside. Next, he grabs his water canteen and downs its contents. He needed a sample, and this was his best option. After scooping up the sludge with the empty canteen Naruto added it to the scroll.

With those in hand he quickly left for clean air. Once he was far enough away from the ruined forest to breath in without puking, he landed and slipped of his bird. Biting the tip of his thumb Naruto when through the motions for a summoning jutsu. When the smoke cleared there were two animals before him. A head sized orange toad named Gamakichi and a similarly sized purple snake named Hebitasu.

"Yo! Naruto, what's up?" Gamakichi cheerfully greeted with a wave of his webbed hand.

"What is it?" Hebitasu bluntly asked.

"I need you guys to deliver something for me." Naruto said as he handed over three scrolls, one for Gamakichi and two for Hebitasu.

"Something happen? You don't usually summon the both of us." Gamakichi asked, glancing over at his scaly counterpart as he took the offered scroll.

"Yeah, you could say that." Naruto answered while taking a quick glance over his shoulder. "Found something weird and want to let dad and sensei know about it."

"Understood." Hebitasu grunted before vanishing in a cloud of smoke to deliver the scrolls.

"Always in a rush that guy." Gamakichi quipped with a smirk and shake of his head. "Don't worry Naruto, I'll get this to Minato. No sweat!" And with a that he too vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Tilting his head back to stare up at the vast blue-sky Naruto let out a small sigh. Hopefully, this wouldn't turn into anything serious.

Back in Konoha – Namikaze residence

"Minato, sweety, I love you, but this plan is stupid." Kushina told her husband after being sat down in their kitchen and told what he and the others had come up with.

"I know. I know, but we can't do nothing either." Minato reasoned. If they took too long or simply did nothing, then someone will slip in and stir up trouble. "The best scenario would be a union built on love and understanding, but we can't count on that happening. So, we need to prepare for the worse."

"But a fake engagement!?" Kushina shot back. "Naruto should get to fall in love normally. It's the least he deserves!" Slamming her hands on the table Kushina stood from her chair with a fierce look in her eyes.

Returning her ferocity with a sad expression Minato replied, "You know that's not an option. Not as long as he choses to live in this world." Hearing the bitter truth Kushina bit her lower lip before slumping back into her chair. With a defeated sigh she asked who they had in mind. "We've decided to go with these three." Minato said as he pulled out a vanilla envelope.

After taking it and looing over the contents Kushina's resigned acceptance quickly fell apart. "Mi-na-to." A jill ran down the man's back as his wife addressed him. "What's with these ages!? They're way to old!" the redhead demanded to know as she slammed the papers on the table.

"Kushi, calm down." Minato pleaded. "Anyone taking this mission will be targeted by other villages sooner or later. They need to be able to defend themselves and Naruto, so the age gap was unavoidable." Minato told her.

"Unavoidable? Unavoidable!? The youngest one here is nineteen! Fucking nineteen! They're all grown ass women!" Kushina bellowed as she crumpled up the papers in fury.

"Yo, Minato, I-AHGH!?" After just arriving the toad narrowly avoided Kushina's fists as she slammed them. Terrified the small toad hopped into Minato's chest. "The hell did I just walk in on?" Gamakichi croaked out, to which Minato could only reply with an apologetic smile. He could do nothing now but let her blow off steam.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter six is good to go! Hope you all enjoy!**

**(Marshalanime9 does not own Naruto)**

It was Naruto's fifth day of searching, late into the evening as the sky turned from blue to vibrant shades of orange and violet, when Kyukichi finally picked up Tsunade's signature. Without hesitation the pair flew in her direction at top speed, coming to a mid-sized tourist town. Landing out of sight, just inside the forest surrounding the town, Naruto released his mount. With Kyukichi in tow he then made his way out of the woods and into town.

Even with the sun about to set the main streets were still lively. People from many places and backgrounds gathered in places like this and theses towns were accustomed to many lifestyles, from early birds to night owls. No matter what time of day or night there was something to do. As the pair chased after Tsunade's chakra signature they soon found what she'd chosen to do with her time.

"Of course." Naruto muttered as they stood outside what was obviously a bar.

"At least she's consistent." Kyukichi chirped.

"No point in standing out here." Counter to the disappointment in his tone Naruto was excited to see the old woman again, but she could do with better hobbies.

At this time of day, the place was starting to fill with patrons and the odd pair had no issues slipping in. Once inside it didn't take long to spot a familiar head of blond hair sitting in one of the side booths. "Hey, Tsuna-" the boy was in the middle of greeting as he approached when he froze up. Tsunade wasn't alone, and he recognized the man sitting with her. A cold sweat ran down his neck and his breath caught in his throat as stared at the man's back. He was someone Naruto had only ever seen in photos but who's reputation far exceeded him.

Turning his attention from Tsunade's wide eyed expression the white haired sage turned in his set to took at Naruto. "Friend of yours?" Jiraiya asked his old teammate. His expression was far from harsh, gentle even, but it still sent shivers through Naruto's body.

'Just relax. I never mentioned my Menma persona in any of the letters I left Iruka-sensei or the old man. If I keep my mask on, he won't recognize me.' Naruto desperately thought to himself.

"Menma!" A voice piercing the fog reached out to the boy from behind. He didn't need to look to know who it was. "How long has it been? It feels like you've grown an inch since last time!" Tsunade's black haired apprentice greeted him from behind, her pet pig Tonton held in her arms. She must have returned from doing something or other.

"You know how to play, right? Come. Take a seat." Tsunade, her expression softening back to normal, offered as she gathered up the cards scattered on the table.

"Hey!" Jaraiya blurted out as he turned back to the woman. "Don't use him as an excuse to end our game! I was just about to win!" The man whined while clutching the cards in his hand.

While Tsunade was ignoring her old friends protests Shizune took her seat next to her mentor. Leaving the spot next to Jiraiya for Naruto. Taking those last few steps over to the table Naruto stopped and turned to fully face Jiraiya. "You're Jiraiya of the Sannin, right?" Naruto asked.

"Hm?" Stopping his complaints short the man turned his attention back to the boy. Forming a big grin, he began. "Oh oh, know who I am huh? Well I can't blame you. I am famous after all! There isn't a nation who hasn't heard of the great toad sage Jiraiya!" While his attention was held by his ego Tsunade reached over and yanked the cards out of his hand.

"I'm a fan of your writing, actually." Naruto told him as he reached into his back pouch.

This drew a cocked eyebrow from the white haired sage. "You're a bit young to be reading my books aren't ya?" His concern soon faded into a sense of nostalgia however when he saw the book Naruto pulled out. A simple looking brown book with only the title on its cover 'The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi'. Taking the offered book Jiraiya quickly flipped through its contents. "Most of my fans don't even know this book exists. I'm surprised to see someone your age carrying it around." He admitted.

"It's your best work." Naruto enthusiastically told him.

This earned a hearty chuckle from the man. "My best work huh? It'd be a shame if I hit my peek with my first book. How about you read some of my other work once your older? I'm sure you'll be singing a different tune then!"

"Lord Jiraiya! You can't just tell someone his age to read those books!" Shizune blurted out with flushed cheeks.

"I said when he's older!" Jiraiya defended himself as he reached into his vest to pull out a pen. "Hey kid, it was Menma, right? How about I sign this for ya, since you're a big fan and all." The man offered as he scooched over to give Naruto more room to sit down.

"Don't go getting a big head. It's full of enough hot air as it is." Tsunade told her friend as she dished out hands for their game.

"Harsh Tsunade. Harsh." Jiraiya mindlessly said as he signed Naruto's book.

"Unbelievable!" Jiraiya burst out after some time. "That makes four out of six games you've won! What gives?" the man complained while giving Naruto the stink eye. Naruto's response was a shoulder shrug, only further irritating the sage.

"Kid's just lucky when it comes to this sort of thing. He's a gambling prodigy." Tsunade remarked as she went about reshuffling the cards.

"It doesn't exactly make me happy to be called a gambling prodigy." Naruto muttered as he leaned back against the seat.

"At least you wont half to worry about money while you travel. Not with that kind of luck." Shizune jumped in with Tonton adding an oink of agreement.

"Traveling, huh? I bit young to be wandering around by yourself." Jiraiya commented.

"Been moving from place to place for as long as I can remember. Hard to settle down in one place when you're use to moving." Naruto picked one of his rehearsed lines. It would be easier to poke holes in his backstory if he "lived" in any one place, and if he's asked about specific places then he can use his experiences while traveling with his father to answer them. More or less anyway.

"By yourself though?" Jiraiya repeated the main point of his question.

"My parents are shinobi. They've trained me enough to get by when they're not around." Naruto told him, hoping he'd drop it sooner rather then later. He had spent hours practicing and remembering his background, but he wasn't an espionage expert. The longer he had to keep up the role the more likely it was for him to slip up and contradict himself.

"Fair enough." Jiraiya relented. He had seen kids in worse situations during his time. "I don't suppose you could help me out then. Since you travel a lot." Jiraiya continued as he pulled out a picture. "There's someone I'm looking for, kid about your age. His name's Naruto Uzumaki." Jiraiya said as he handed over a picture of Naruto. "Don't suppose you've seen him?" He asked.

Taking the picture Naruto pretended to look it over closely. They took a photo of the academy students at the beginning of every year to update their files. The picture Jiraiya had was the most resent of those photos. "Sorry." Naruto apologized while offering back the photo. "I can't say I've seen him."

"I figured as much, but why don't you keep that. Just in case you do run into him." Jiraiya said, refusing to take the photo back as he stood up. "It was nice running into you again, but I should be getting back on the road. Work and all that" Jiraiya told Tsunade as he shimmed past Naruto.

"Yeah. Nice seeing you." Tsunade replied as the man walked away and eventually disappeared into the dwindling crowd outside. Once he was gone Tsunade started to toss out cards again. "You should have some cash on you. So, let's make this one interesting!" Tsunade challenged with a grin, ignoring Shizune's light complaint.

"Oh come on! I'm not going to play card games with you all night!" Naruto told her as he got roped into another few games.

Hours later had Tsunade leaning out the window of the room she'd rented in one of the inns, simply watching the sun rise in the distance. In her hand was one of Dan's latest letters while in the room behind her Shizune was still fast asleep. They had offered to let Naruto stay with them, but he'd stubbornly refused and got his own room somewhere. Letting out a content sigh she asked, "What did you think?"

"It looks like he's doing just fine." A voice from above answered. Sitting on the roof above her Jiraiya was also watching the sunrise. "I'll admit, we were pretty worried when we read the letters he left behind. We thought for sure that someone was tricking him, but your story gives it a bit more credibility." Jiraiya told her.

"I wouldn't have said anything if you hadn't gone rummaging through my stuff." Tsunade told him with clear annoyance in her voice.

"You're not the type of person who goes around writing letters. I couldn't help myself when I saw you carrying some around." He told her.

"Yeah. Yeah." She waved off his excuse.

"It stings knowing he doesn't trust me enough to tell the truth, but I suppose I've never given him a reason to." Jiraiya admitted with a tinge of sorrow in his words.

"If it makes you feel bad then get off your ass and do something about it! It's not too late to make it up to him." Tsunade berated him.

A brief moment of silence hung between them when the sound of Jiraiya standing up broke the silence. "You're right." Jiraiya said as the morning breeze brushed past him. "I'll start by letting Sensei know he doesn't have to worry." The sage said as he jumped to the next roof over. Turning back toward Tsunade he then asked, "You said he comes by about once a month, right?"

"Yeah, what of it?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Then I'll be paying you another visit soon!" Jiraiya said before heading off for the village.

Hearing that a vein popped out on Tsunade's forehead. "Don't bother!" The blond sannin grumbled to herself.

In the room Naruto was renting it was silent save for the light snoring coming from one white fox curled up on the futon. Naruto sat off to the side with "The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi" resting on his lap. With a smile he stared down at the autograph adorning the front. "He's just like you described him."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello Everyone! One of the reviews brought to my attention the fact that the story can be hard to follow due to switching between the two similar worlds frequently. So, I'll be adding line breaks to differentiate them when I switch over. -Original World- will be before a jump to the cannon timeline and -AU World- will be before a jump to the altered timeline. With that said, I hope you all enjoy the chapter!**

**(Marshalanime9 does not own Naruto)**

Eight days after taking the letters to deliver Naruto was Walking into the village with a bundle of letters for Dan. First order of business was to head home and change out of his Menma outfit. It was easy to hide in because it didn't suit him. The sooner he could get back into his usual clothes the better. No one was home so after that it was straight to the Hokage's tower.

"Naruto!" A happy voice met the blond a few steps into the building. The source was one Sakura Haruno as her and her team were one their way to the exit. She quickly shortened the distance between them as Naruto returned the greeting. "Hey Naruto, look! Look!" The pink haired lass beamed as leaned forward to show off the metal plate tied around her forehead. "Don't you think it suites me?"

Her enthusiasm seemed infectious as Naruto's lips broke into a wide smile. "You kidding? Of course, it looks good one you! You're a real shinobi now!" Naruto excitedly resonded.

"Yeah! You bet I am!" Sakura cheered while throwing a fist in the air.

"Don't go getting a big head. You barely know anything past what the academy taught us." Came the voice of the teams second girl. A glasses wearing redhead. Her words put a slight dent in Sakura's enthusiasm, but she'd shake it off after a moment. Her eyes then turned from her teammate to the boy she was standing in front of. "Auntie said you took a trip to get some fresh air. It help any?" Karin asked.

"Yeah! I feel good as new." Naruto responded as he grabbed his shoulder and flexed his arm to show off how healthy he was.

"If you say so." Karin said with a sigh and a shrug of her shoulders.

A little way behind their sensei glanced down at his final student. "Don't feel like saying hello?" Obito asked with a strong poke to Sasuke's cheek.

"Huh? Wha?!" Seemingly ripped from his thoughts from his sensei's act the young Uchiha started frantically looking around.

"Something up? You've been acting strange lately." Obito asked with his visible eyebrow raised. "You know you can tell me anything." The man said as his junior's eyes landed on him.

"Ah, no." Sasuke hesitantly replied as his gaze drifted over to his friends. "It's nothing to worry about." The boy added as he started to walk over to the others.

"I'll be here if and when you want to elaborate." Obito told him. It was clear that he wasn't buying it. No surprise considering how long they've known each other.

Shaking off Obito's concerned gaze Sasuke put a smile on his face as he quickened his paise. Raising his hands up dramatically he passed through his teammates like he was parting a curtain. "It's just awful Naruto. I'm blessed enough to be placed on a team with two lovely girls, but they just had to be the second and third most aggravating ladies in all of Konoha! I don't know how much more of this I can take." Sasuke confided in his blond friend as he wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"What was that!?/Come again!?" Sakura/Karin growled out as they leered at their teammate.

"See what I mean? They get angry at the smallest things." The Uchiha complained.

"Angry? Oh! You haven't even seen angry yet!" Sakura told him with clenched fists.

"Keep it up Sasuke! I'll flatten that two-faced, flirting ass of yours before you can blink!" Karin said as she trembled in furry.

Feeling his shoulders drop Naruto let a sigh escape his lips. "What'd he do?"

Hearing Naruto's response Sasuke smirked and let go. Turning around he headed for the door as his teammates started to rattle of complaints. His smile turned into a thin line as he dropped back into his thoughts. "Don't worry. I'll take care of the shadows nipping at your feet. So just keep smiling." The Uchiha thought to himself as he mindlessly put one foot in front of the other.

"Sasuke, the bastard…" Naruto grumbled to himself with folded arms as he made his way to Dan's office. Stirring up the hornet's nest and leaving him to deal with it. Who does he think he is? Maybe a soak in the hot springs with help him relax once he drops off the letters.

Naruto Had expected to see Dan sitting at his desk looking over some papers or addressing one of his shinobi. So when he opened the door to his office to see his mother and all three of the Hokage's assistants waiting with the Hokage he was understandable surprised.

"S-Sorry! Didn't know you were busy!" Naruto blurted out as he went to shut the door.

"Take a seat, Naruto." Dan's voice reached the boy before the door fully shut. The confusion written on Naruto's face was evident as he opened the door again. "We've been waiting for you. There's something very important we need to tell you." The Hokage told him in all seriousness.

-Original World-

"Yeah. This matches with how he looked." Jiraiya said after going over the Mizuki's interrogation report.

Taking a long puff on his pipe Hiruzen leaned back in his chair. Letting the smoke ruminate in his lungs for a moment the old Hokage breathed out the purple smoke before saying, "And now we have his new persona on paper in some filing cabinet."

"What do you want to do? It's not to late to alter the report and sweep it under the rug." Jiraiya suggested.

A moment passed as Hiruzen considered it. Finally, "I don't think that will be necessary." The old man said before taking another swig of tabaco. After refilling the space around him with smoke Hiruzen elaborated. "Mizuki was already labeled a criminal and struck first. We have no reason to pursue him on those grounds." Pausing to fill hid lungs with smoke again Hiruzen once more skimmed over the report Jiraiya made. "If we add in the information depicting him as the child of roaming shinobi then we can simply file "Menma" as a low priority case. He'll be able to fly under the radar like nothing ever happened."

"Right. No one looks into those. We don't have the manpower to waste on the small stuff." Jiraiya nodded in agreement. "I'll leave the paperwork to you then." The toad sage said as he went to leave.

Once he was alone Hiruzen sat for a good long while just thinking. For as happy he was that Naruto found a place to belong, he was frustrated with himself for failing to provide that here. Furthermore, was the very real fact that Konoha now lacked a jinchuriki. They had never needed to unleash the power of the tailed beast before but just having it was a major deterrent to other villages. Despite their best efforts it was only a matter of time before the news leaked to other nations. Then he had to worry about threats from inside the village. He could already picture a few faces who will not sit idly by and watch from the sidelines.

"I'm getting to old for this." Hiruzen sighed.

-AU World-

"Eeeehhh!?" Had he not been sitting Naruto's quivering legs would have given out on him as his situation was spelled out for him. "What's this about marriage!? And why does it have to be me!?" Naruto demanded.

"If you'd payed attention just now you'd know we were in this mess because of you." Fugaku said in an exasperated tone.

"I'm also to blame for bringing him along." Minato interjected.

"I was simply happy to see you making so many friends. I didn't see the problem until it was too late. I'm sorry." Kushina apologized.

"An irresistible prize dangled in front of their noses. It's no wonder the other villages want you so badly. We would do the same if the roles were reversed." Orochimaru added.

"Weather you noticed it or not Naruto, you're the type of person who inspires people to follow you. That's a powerful gift now more than ever. The other villages are simply worried about what would happen to their position in the world if we cultivated that gift for ourselves." Dan further explained.

"And how is that fair? I didn't ask to be a prize!" Naruto all but shouted, frustration flowing out of every muscle in his face.

"That's why we came up with this plan." Kushina told him. "If we do this then it'll deter the other villages." His mother said.

"And how, exactly? Apparently, there's no one has a problem with throwing multiple girls at me." Naruto said with a pointed look.

"Majority rule. If most of your brides are loyal to Konoha then it obvious that you wouldn't be as easily swayed. The other villages arguing that political marriage will strengthen our bonds as an excuse to get at you. One is hard to outright refuse but two or more would be easier to handle." Minato explained.

"Even in this time of peace shinobi need to continue to hone their talents, train new generations, and manage mission requests. There are only so many resources they can dump into this. We're simply setting the odds in our favor to get rid of the villages who can't afford to waste time on an unlikely outcome and reduce the will of those with time on their hands." Fugaku told him.

"The plan's not perfect of course." Orochimaru started. "The more villages who conclude that young Naruto here is out of their reach the more of them will decide it's in their best interest to eliminate him before it becomes an issue." The sannin warned.

"E-Eliminate!?" Naruto gasped as he brought a hand up to his neck.

"It was always a risk, so the plan doesn't change that too greatly." Dan started, trying to assuage the boy's concern. "But dealing with physical threats is easier so it's better if you think of it that way. We will also be providing you with ANBU guard on top of the protection you'll receive from your "brides-to-be". At the moment this is the safest route we have available to us." The Hokage said as he slid a small stack of papers toward the boy. "But we can't continue further with this unless you give your support." Dan reminded him.

Naruto grumbled as he looked down at the papers. They'd brought them out earlier while first explaining everything. If her signed these then he'd officially be married. At least as far as paper trails were concerned.

"You don't have to decide right now, but we'll need an answer soon." Minato said as he placed a reassuring hand on his son's back.

"I think we can end this with introductions." Dan spoke up. "Come in." And with those words the door clicked open.

Turning far enough in his chair to look back Naruto saw three women entering the room. The first was a woman wearing red lipstick with fair skin, dark eyes and light blue hair which she kept in a spiky ponytail with long strands of hair framing her face. The second had long wavy purple hair with cropped bangs hanging over her forehead protector with only the Konoha symbol showing on it. The last was the only one Naruto recognized, Dan's niece. She shockingly resembled her late aunt Tsunade save for her rounder face.

"These are the three hand picked by Orochimaru, Fugaku, and myself. Guren works directly under Orochimaru and possesses a rare and power kekkei genkai." Dan said motioning to the woman with blue hair.

Taking a small bow Guren proclaimed "Lord Orochimaru has entrusted your safety to me. I will not disappoint."

"Next is Naori Uchiha. A fine shinobi whose excellent work in our police force speaks for itself." Dan then motioned to the one with purple hair.

"You're safe with me. I promise." Naori said with a quick nod.

"And you've already met Azami."

"Long time no see, huh? You used to be such a little brat and now look at you! You've grown into a big brat before I knew it!" Azami animatedly blurted out, using her hand to mime Naruto's current height.

"These are the shinobi selected from dozens of candidates who will be entrusted with this mission." Were Dan's confident words.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter eight is here! Hope you all enjoy!**

**(Marshalanime9 does not own Naruto)**

"I guess this is the place." Naruto muttered as he stood outside what looked like a regular apartment complex. He'd read and reread the address he'd been given, and this was definitely the place. It's been a day since Naruto was brought in on the plan. He has yet to give an answer but regardless of what he decided he was told he needed to attend sexual education and anti-seduction classes.

Reaching out Naruto rung the buzzer. From the speaker a voice called out asking what his business here was. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I was told to come here." At his response Naruto heard the door unlock. When he opened the door, me was met with a normal looking foyer with an old gran sitting behind the counter.

"So, you're Naruto, eh?" The old lady half asked half affirmed. She wore an unassuming dark blue kimono with cream colored trimming. Her grey hair was pulled into a tight bun save for a strip of bangs that hung down to her chest and covered half of her left eye. Grabbing hold of the cane resting on the back of her chair the old gran flicked her wrist, slapping the thing against the counter with a loud snap. The sudden noise startled Naruto who jumped in his skin, mentally cursing out the woman. "Hachiro! Get your ass down here! Our special guest has finally decided to show up!" The woman bellowed at a volume unbefitting someone her age.

"What's with this old bat?" Naruto thought as he watched the woman bash her cane on the counter a few more times.

"I'm coming gran-gran!" A voice rang down the steps next to the counter, followed by a series of steps. The man who produced that voice soon came into view as he strode with elegance down the steps. He wore the same kind of kimono as the old lady, hiding most of his physique, but was caught Naruto's attention was his face. The man was gorgeous! His features looked like they were sculpted by world renown artisans and framed by long, silky smooth locks of midnight black hair. He was practically a walking wet dream!

"What's taking so long? Are you trying to wait for this old bag of bones to croak before doing anything?" The woman grumbled.

"Not at all gran-gran." The man answered without turning his gaze toward the woman. "Greetings Naruto, my name is Hachiro. I'll be your instructor for the foreseeable future." Hachiro introduced himself with a bow.

"Ah, yeah. Nice to meet ya." Naruto returned hesitantly. "I want to go home." Naruto internally wished.

Leaning back up Hachiro stretched his arm out toward the stairs he'd recently come down. "Shall we get going then?"

"What are we dealing with here?" Dan asked to begin his latest meeting with his three advisers.

"After searching the area we've concluded that there were twelve shinobi from the Land of Woods based off the clothing and weapons found in the area. No bodies were recovered." Minato said as he laid out photos and documentation from the sight. With his space-time ninjutsu it was easy for him to travel from the village to the sight seamlessly, so he'd been spearheading the onsite investigation. "Since we don't have bodies to determine a time of death, we had to look at the damage to surroundings to determine when the fight took place. We're confident in saying this took place eight to ten days ago."

Dan nodded as he put down Minato's written report and took hold of Orochimaru's findings. "It says here that black sludge found at the sight is a mass of rotting plant matter, animals, and humans." Dan said as his eyes focused on the sannin.

"That's right." Orochimaru answered as his gaze drifted down to a picture of the forest scar. "I could quickly rule out acidic attacks. The headband Naruto sent was devoid of any organic material. Skin cells, blood, hair follicles, nothing outside of the biomass covering the rest of the sight. This pattern repeats itself with the other articles retrieved from the sight. Yet everything recovered was showed no signs of erosion. Acid strong enough to completely dissolve a human body would damage the clothing as well." Orochimaru said as he spread out photos off the recovered clothing. True to his word the only damage shown was from slash marks that'd been picked clean of the blood you'd expect from such injuries. "This was further confirmed when I tested the samples. The material hadn't been dissolved but decomposed. Rapidly at that."

"It says here that the most likely cause is an unknown fungus?" Fugaku asked as he looked over the part of the report he was referencing.

"Correct. Despite most of the organic material being to far gone to run a DNA analysis there are portions intact enough to recover. The overwhelming majority of the DNA recovered was from a fungus that isn't in our system and doesn't match any fungus recovered from the area surrounding the sight. The samples were also considerable decomposed, so I have to assume that the fungus last for a short period of time or turns on itself once it consumes everything else." The sannin explained.

After hearing Orochimaru's explanation the Uchiha took on a pensive look. "Do you have a lead?" Dan asked the man.

Reaching down to the table Fugaku shoved papers out of the way to give a better look at the map they had spread out. "As you can see, the skirmish took place near a route between Konoha" he started as he placed his finger on a marked road and then ran it along the path, "and Kusa." Fugaku finished as he stopped on the marker for the village.

"You think the Kusa team had a hand in this?" Minato questioned as his eyes narrowed at the map. In response Fugaku pulled out a folder he'd brought with him. When he put it on the table and opened it there were dossiers on four people.

"The team leader, Kioshi Tanaka. Age nineteen. A man of unassuming appearance who has risen far in his village. He specializes in political dealings, so his fighting style isn't well understood outside his affinity for earth jutsu." Fugaku said as he slid one dossier into the center of the table. The picture associated with it depicted a man with no noticeable features, which was noticeable in-of-itself. You'd never spot him in a crowd unless you were already looking for him.

"Team muscle, Masajiro Matsumoto. Age thirty-nine. During the last war he served as one of Kusagakure's hard-hitting front liners. He specializes in body enhancements. Using chakra he can bolster his already immense strength for devastating blows. In the past he's had difficulty dealing with mid to long range fighters but it's unclear weather or not he's improved on this weakness since the war." Fugaku said as he pushed out the next dossier. The picture showed a man of impressive stature with brood shoulders, rippling muscles, and a piercing gaze.

"The team's vital member, Amaya Tamura. Age fourteen. At Kusagakure's insistence she's come on a diplomatic mission to win Naruto's favor and strengthen bonds between the two villages. Most of our reports covering her combat abilities come from her participation during the chunnin exams held in Iwagakure two years ago. She displayed excellent skills as a leader, singlehandedly taking her team to the finals and made chunnin upon her return to Kusagakure. Her fighting style seems to revolve around weaponizing blades of grass." Fugaku said as he pushed her dossier forward. The picture showed a girl sporting a confident expression. Her long forest green hair looked to fall to the bass of her back before being looped back up so the ends could be braided into a hair accessory resembling a crown of thorns. As far as looks were concerned, she was well suited to the roll she was assigned.

"And lastly, we have Den Kinoko. Age eleven. Officially, this is her first assignment, but given she'd from the Kinoko clan we can assume her ninjutsu revolve around the use of mushrooms." Fugaku said as he pushed forward the last dossier. The pictured showed a girl with short, unkempt grey hair and a dead, expressionless face.

"So young." Dan muttered as he recalled his short meeting with the Kusa group. He hadn't been able to see her face then and she hadn't spoken a single word, but something about her had felt… off. "You think she'd responsible for the decay?" Dan asked skeptically. Not because she was young, but because it didn't suit the Kinoko clan.

"The Kinoko have never been deployed on the battlefield. Their use of mushrooms and other fungi to infect their targets and influence their thoughts is powerful, but time consuming. A successful infiltration takes months." Fugaku recounted what he knew of the clan's utility. "That being said, we can't overlook the possibility."

"Has there been any unusual behavior?" Dan asked the man.

"They're being monitored round the clock but nothing out of the ordinary has been reported." Fugaku advised.

"I'd like to suggest an increase in shinobi assigned to the operation. We need to confirm if mis Den is a threat or not." Minato spoke up.

"She never leaves the apartment." Fugaku interjected, gaining a slightly annoyed look from the blond. "More eyes won't help if she never moves from the same spot. We'd be wasting resources." The man pointed out.

"Can you guarantee that she'll stay cooped up the whole visit?" Minato asked.

"You shouldn't let personal feeling cloud your judgment." Fugaku countered with a stern gaze.

"And what's that suppose to mean?" Minato asked, returning his own hard look.

"You're worried about tomorrows meeting, yes?" Orochimaru asked. Minato's downward gaze answered him well enough.

"I can't say much on the subject knowing I would've done the same in his situation, but you knew something like this would happen one day when he brought the two Uzumaki refugees home with him." Fugaku said after letting out a brief sigh. He spoke regarding what happened years ago when Minato took Naruto with him to Kusagakure. It was there that a young Naruto first met Karin and her mother. Even at that young age Naruto could see the mistreatment the pair received and his efforts to help them only intensified once he found out they were related.

"They've come to collect on their favor." Dan spoke up. "Even assuming everything we theorized here is true, that on route to the village the Kusa group ran into shinobi from the Land of Woods and fought, that they killed them and destroyed part of the forest, and that Den has the capability to destroy such a large area, we still can't refuse them on that basis. No Konoha shinobi were involved and we can't say who started the fight. They'd been given permission to enter the country unlike the shinobi from the Land of Woods and it could easily be a case of self-defense." Dan told Minato, who despite himself knew the Hokage was right. "Trust me Minato when I say that I want to keep Naruto safe just as much as you do, but we only have so many shinobi. Right now, we can't afford to pull more shinobi from other assignments." Dan told him.

"…" Minato stayed silent for a moment as he hid his eyes behind interlocked fingers. "I understand. Forgive me." As a shinobi Minato knew they were right, but as a father his heart ached with the feeling he wasn't doing enough for his son.

Meanwhile, in an apartment complex reserved for Shinobi visiting the village a far different yet similar conversation was taking place.

"Come on Kioshi, I need some input here." Amaya insisted as she stood before several outfits laid out on the floor. Her hands on her hips as she scowled at the man who was busy reading and ignoring her.

"Why are you asking me?" Kioshi asked as he finally put his book down on the desk and turned in his chair to look at the girl.

"What? You think I'm gonna ask the old guy for fashion advise? He can barely pick out his own shirts!" Amaya retorted. "They say clothes make the man, right? I need that kid wanting in my pants at first sight or the clothes aren't good enough. Since you've looked over his file a dozen time now you can help me pick out something to knock him on his ass." The girl reasoned.

With a groan Kioshi got out of his chair. "I suppose this IS why I came." He said as he walked over to the clothes. After only a few seconds he was kicking away several sets. "He's too oblivious to feminine charm for subtly so these are out. These are no good since tasteless skin exposure will put distance between you. Your chest isn't anything special," he was saying and ignoring her protest, "so we need to accentuate your hips and legs..." After only a few minutes he was heading back to his seat, leaving a pile of discarded clothes in his wake. "Any of those should do." He said, leaving her with three sets still laid out.

"Thanks, I guess…" Amaya said will giving the man a look that said she wanted to clock him.

"Don't screw up tomorrow and I'll except that as thanks." Kioshi told her as he picked his book back up.

"Ha! Like that would ever happen!" Amaya chirped as she gathered up the outfit she'd wear tomorrow. "I never fail." She said as a toothy sneer spread across her lips.

Back at the seduction department's secret HQ

With a pale face Naruto watched as Hachiro pulled out another assassination tool commonly used in the field. On the table before him was a spread of other such devices ranging from poisonous lubricant and aphrodisiacs to strap-ons with hidden switchblades and things to shove into yourself that will slice apart any important bits that follow after it.

"What's with this cruel world?" Naruto wondered to himself before being swiftly struck on the head by his instructor.

"I need your full attention please. Any information miss here could get you killed in the future." Hachiro said with a sweet smile but shrouded in an ominous aura.

"I want to go home!" Naruto mentally shouted as he rubbed the growing bump on his head.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter nine is good to go! Hope you all enjoy!**

**(Marshalanime9 does not own Naruto)**

The sun shown bright in early afternoon, the birds chirped happily as they flew through the sky, and a gentle breeze washed over the village. It was time for battle!

"This feels so stupid" Naruto grumbled to himself as he fidgeted around in his seat. He was meeting his opponent in some dango shop like was scheduled. Since it was just him right now, he couldn't help but let his mind wander through today's events so far.

He was practically dragged out of bed, washed, and dressed up by ANBU. He didn't look any different from normal, but they told him he needed to look presentable or risk insulting Kusa's representative. Even if he wanted to refuse the marriage proposal it had to be done in a way that won't tarnish Kusagakure's reputation. So, acting out of character to make her refuse him was out of the question. The enemy surely had reports about him, so they knew what was and what wasn't normal for him. It also couldn't end after one meeting or they'd make a stink about it. Meaning he'd have to do this over and over again till it was appropriate to turn them down.

"Commit this route to memory and never deviate from it. We have to compromise in several areas, but this isn't one of them." The ANBU captain, a woman based off the figure and voice, with hair tied up with colorful rope and bells told him while he at breakfast. They had carted a white board into the kitchen covered in maps of the village, pictures and information on his opponents, and other relevant information.

"That's right!" His mother quipped from her seat beside him. Even if it felt like ANBU HQ today this was still their home. The three of them were still eating together like normal.

"They're here to court you, not the other way around. It would be unreasonable for them to demand going anywhere you don't want to, and they know that. They can make requests but will have to back down if you refuse. Remember that and don't give them an inch." His father reminded him.

"My team will be shadowing you every step of the way and will step in is something happens. We'll also need you communicate with us during the meeting so make sure to remember the signals we've set up." The ANBU captain told him.

"I get it already! How many times do we have to go over this?" Naruto whines. They'd been repeating this over and over again all morning. They were going to drive him mad!

"Na-ru-to-!" The rumbling from his mother sent a chill down his spine. "You need a lot of repetition for something to sink in and we only have a short amount of time to get you to remember this." Kushina said with a sweet smile. "Or did they not teach you what can happen when you mess something like this up?"

At that memories from Hachiro's class came flooding back to the boy. The color from his face drained and his legs instinctually closed shut as he shakily blurted out "Right! Signals! How did they go again?"

"Naruto, right?" An unfamiliar voice drew Naruto back to the present. When he came out of his thoughts, he was met with a face he'd been shown a hundred times today. Amaya Tamura. Her hair was the same here as it was in the photo, but her outfit was completely different. She wore a dark green, skintight half-sleeve that stopped just above her navel and had a thin slit over the top of her cleavage that was more pronounce with the way she was leaning over to look him in the eye right now. Over her left shoulder was a grass woven half cape that would cover her upper arm while standing straight up. She wore black short shorts leaving her long flawless legs on full display and finished up with black heeled sandals. After taking in her outfit he examined the face he'd initially brushed off. The smile she wore wasn't anything like the photos he'd seen. It was bright and inviting with glossy pink lips. Then he met her eyes. Those emerald orbs radiated joy and curiosity and dazzled so brightly that he felt like he wouldn't be able to look away. And the last thing to reach his mind was the relaxing aroma of a dew-covered field in the morning.

"Pretty" Naruto unconsciously breathed out, only realizing his mistake when Amaya cutely giggled at his remark.

"So, I'm pretty am I? I'd hope so!" Amaya happily said as stood up straight. "It'd be pretty awkward in my date didn't think I looked good." She said as her right hand came up to nervously rub the side of her neck. Naruto struggled with his words for a moment, stumbling over himself as he tried to get out a decent response. He eventually settled with offering her a seat so they could get something to eat. "Great!" Amaya cheered as she took a seat opposite him. "I've been so nervous that I couldn't even eat dinner last night. I'm starving!" The girl happily admitted.

"…Is… Is this really an enemy shinobi?" Naruto wondered to himself as watched her with an odd expression on his face.

"He's already slipping." The ANBU captain muttered to herself from a near by roof. As long as he doesn't make any big mistakes this time around, they can further prepare him for their next encounter, but it was clear to her that he's undertrained for this kind of battle. He'll get swept up in her pace at this rate.

"Oh wow! These look tasty!" Amaya gushed once their food was brought out to them.

"Yeah, I hear this place is pretty popular. No surprise if their dango taste as good as they look!" Naruto happily said as he picked up a skewer to try it.

"Oh?" Amaya let out before slipping a dumpling ball into her mouth. Quickly chewing and swallowing she opened her mouth to continue. "You've never been here before?"

"Hmhmm?" Naruto murmured through closed lips as he chewed the multiple dumplings, he'd shoved in. "Ah, no." Naruto started after clearing his mouth. "I usually go to Ichiraku's when I eat out." Naruto told her.

"We should go there as well! It must be wonderful if you're always going there." Amaya suggested with a gentle smile.

A reason to go to Ichiraku's was always welcome and Naruto was a second away from agreeing when mis ANBU's words rung through his head. "Commit this route to memory and never deviate from it."

"I don't know." Naruto said as he scratched his cheek. "I wouldn't want to eat too much."

Hearing this Amaya puffed up her cheeks and gave him a cute pout. "But I really want to go now." She whines while maintaining her pout.

"Maybe next time." Naruto suggested with hesitantly raised arms to placate her.

Immediately her face brightened up and she threw a fist in the air. "It's a promise!" Amaya happily cheered.

"Y-Yeah… promise…" Naruto replied with a strained smile. It just felt so wrong to think of this girl as his enemy. Were they sure she was just here to take advantage of him? But wouldn't someone who wanted to trick him act like this? On the other hand, she seemed really genuine. But he could always be wrong.

'Poke'

"Ghua!?" Naruto nearly fell out of his seat at the unexpected sensation of something touching his cheek.

"You okay? You looked stressed out." Amaya asked with a concerned expression as she pulled her hand back. "If you're really that uncomfortable, then we can call it here for today. I'll understand. After all, we've only just met and were already on a date. I'm so nervous I can barely hold down my lunch!" Amaya told him with a strained smile and a quick chuckle tossed in at the end.

"She's giving you an out kid. Just take it and we'll try again later." Mis ANBU's voice came through the small earpiece Naruto was wearing.

"No! No. That won't be necessary." Naruto waved off Amaya's concerns. "Sorry mis ANBU, but no matter how I think of it I can't just start second guessing every offer of trust. Until proven otherwise I'm going to trust her." Naruto thought to himself. Seeing her smile normally again and giving him a quick nod Made him feel like he made the right choice. "Let's take our food to go. Some fresh air and sun will help calm us down!" Naruto suggested as he got up to go pay for the food.

"Yes. That sounds nice." Amaya told him as he walked away, the corner of her lips crooking up as she watched his bag.

"Where too next!" Amaya asked hopefully as the pair walked out of the restaurant with carryout bags.

"There's a park nearby. I figured we could take a walk through there. Enjoy the sights and all that." Naruto told her as he started to lead the way.

With a bright smile Amaya responded. "That sounds wond-"

"So, this is where you've been? And you look even more lovely then the last time we met!" A familiar voice cut over her, causing Amaya's face to freeze up mid-sentence. "And I see Naruto's hear too." Sasuke said as he walked up to the pair from behind. When they turned around, they saw the Uchiha holding a bouquet of purple flowers and sporting a million-dollar smile. "I just so happened to get a hold of these and thought of you. I recalled how you liked lavender, so I just had to deliver them right away." Sasuke said as he held the flowers out for Amaya. "Just fuck off and go back home already you two-faced harlot!" The boy thought while maintaining his dazzling smile.

"Oh, they're lovely! Thank you SO much!" Amaya gushed as she took the flowers off Sasuke. "Piss of with your shitty flowers! You're way to annoying to be useful you playboy shit!" Amaya thought as she maintained her gleeful expression.

"You two know each other?" Naruto asked, giving the pair a warry look.

"We've met a few times./How could I not rush to meet such an angel?" Amaya/Sasuke replied as their gazes turned toward the blond.

"Damn Uchiha! You were supposed to be a sack of information to siphon from, but you've been hounding me for days. Read the atmosphere already!" Amaya thought to herself as she struggled to not glare daggers at the raven haired boy.

"If you're not going to fall for me so I can break your heart and chase you out then at least show your true colors so we can all be done with this!" Sasuke thought as he struggled not to sneer.

"Riiiight…" Naruto flatly said with a blank expression. "This feels weird." Naruto thought as the nice atmosphere from before was washed away.

"I think we really should call it here for today. It'll be awkward to walk around will all of this after all." Amaya said with an apologetic smile as she shifted her arms to draw Naruto's attention to the things she was holding. This came as a surprise to Naruto but before he could make a response she continued. "Sorry, but I really did have a nice time. Even if it was short." And with a short bow she quickly took her leave.

With her figure growing smaller in the distance Naruto turned his attention to his friend with an expression that spoke volumes. "What? Did I say something wrong?" Sasuke replied as if offended by the look Naruto was giving him.

"…No. It's nothing." Naruto told him with a sigh. He didn't know if he should be pissed since his friend just interrupted what clearly looked like a date to outsiders, or relieved since he personally had nothing to do with ending the "date".

"Oh, come on! Cheer up!" Sasuke said as he hooked an arm around Naruto's neck. "So, your date left early, happens to me all the time. No reason to get depressed over it." He tried to console.

"YOU KNEW!?" Naruto blurted out with wide eyes as Sasuke started to lead them along the street.

"Hey, I saw her first and I'll be damned if I lose to you when it comes to girls." Sasuke told him.

"That's not how that's suppose to work!" Naruto berated him.

"I'll back off if you say you love her. Promise!" Sasuke told him, only to receive stuttered complaints in return. "Sounds like fair game to me!" The boy cheered.

"You really are a human piece of filth." Came a voice through the earpiece Sasuke wore. "But at least you're useful for this." Hinata half-praised from her hiding spot, the veins around her eyes fading away as she deactivated her byakugan and she turned off her headset. "We're going to have to do better with this one." Hinata muttered to herself.

"He totally wants to fuck me!" Amaya reported in once getting back to the apartment, giving a thumbs up accompanied by a confident grin.

"I think you're exaggerating." Masajiro retorted from his seat at the table. "Or did you forget that we could here everything, mis popular?" The large man asked as he nodded toward the pot of grass sitting next to him. It was a jutsu of Amaya's, one that utilized grass as a speaker. Since sound is just vibrating air molecules that the brain interprets certain ways, she just needs to make the blades of grass vibrate at the right frequency. The grass in that pot was linked to the grass woven into her cape so they transfer and vibrations they receive through sound over here. It was a more secure way of transferring information then using radios.

With a huff Amaya crossed her arms. "What did you expect to hear? He's just a brat so it's not like he's going to describe all the ways he wants to ravish me!" The girl retorted.

"You're too full of yourself." Masajiro said as if he was already board of the topic.

"Why you big stupid-!" Amaya growled out as she stomped over to the man only to be halted when Kioshi stretched his hand out and tapped his book against her Chest.

"You were right to back out there. Your temper is certainly off-putting. Not something to be shown during a first impression." Kioshi commended her.

"What temper!" Amaya spat.

Ignoring her Kioshi continued. "We didn't expect to go all the way in one go. You drew his attention and that's all we were asking for today. We have all the time we need to pull him in, and when it's too late to backpedal. Well, he won't be able to do anything then, will he?" The man said with a smirk.


	10. Chapter 10

**Howdy guys! Got chapter ten finished. Hope you all enjoy!**

**(Marshalanime9 does not own Naruto)**

The sound of the sozu out in the garden emptying its contents and dropping back onto the rocks greeted Sasuke as he stepped out of the dream world and back into reality. Rolling over in his futon he glanced at the clock on the wall. Little under two hours before he needed to meet up with the rest of his team. Good. Crawling out of bed the young Uchiha stretched out his body before finishing up with a slap to booth cheeks to fully wake up. As the sun was just starting to rise over the horizon Sasuke left his room to begin his daily routine.

Roughly an hour later had Sasuke finishing up his morning workout routine in the garden. He was drenched in sweat after finishing his last jumping squat, but that was fine. He'd be taking a shower before heading to the kitchen so it's not like his body odor would affect anyone.

"Hard at work I see." A voice rung out over the otherwise serene garden. Looking to the source had Sasuke finding his brother sitting on the wooden walkway attached to the house, a towel in his hand.

"Itachi, when'd you get back?" Sasuke asked with a pleasantly surprised expression as his brother got up.

"Late last night. You were already asleep." Itachi told him as he draped the towel over the younger Uchiha's head. "Sorry for missing your graduation." Itachi apologized.

"Don't worry about it. You're a busy guy." Sasuke assured him as he wiped his brow with the offered towel. "We'll just have to celebrate by ourselves."

"I don't have anything planned for today. How about that new restaurant, the one that opened up by Amachi's? My treat." Itachi offered.

"Yeah. Sounds good." Sasuke told him as he placed the towel around his neck. "Already looking forward to it!" Sasuke said with a wide grin as he took off for the shower.

By the time Sasuke entered the kitchen the others were already seated. It was fine. Not like he was going to complain about slightly cold food.

"How has the search been going? Good I hope." Fugaku asked his eldest son.

"I wouldn't really know." Itachi sheepishly admitted. "I've been away on assignments, so I've left house hunting to Izumi." Itachi told them.

"She asked me to with her to a viewing tomorrow. A two-bedroom apartment up in the northern end of the village." Sasuke's mother, Minkoto announced.

"This is the first I'm hearing of this." Fugaku said with a raised eyebrow.

"I told you yesterday. Weren't you listening?" Mikoto shot back.

"Ah, sorry. I've been absentminded as of late." Fugaku apologized. "A long-standing issue has recently gotten more active, so we've had to focus more attention on it." The man explained.

"Moving out already." Sasuke remarked as he slid into his chair. "It makes me sad as your little brother. I'll get to see you even less than usual." The youngest Uchiha added.

"Sasuke, don't go making your bother feel guilty." Mikoto reprimanded with furrowed brows. "Everyone moves out at some point. This is just Itachi's time to do so." Mikoto said only for Itachi to hold his hand up to interject.

"It's fine. It's not something Sasuke will have to worry about." Itachi said, gaining a raised eyebrow from his little brother. "Starting tomorrow I'll be moved from the ANBU to our regular shinobi forces. So, I'll be spending a lot more time inside the village." Itachi told him.

"What!?" Sasuke blurted out, nearly jumping out of his seat. Mikoto also seemed surprised by this announcement, though Fugaku's expression didn't even budge.

"Father's responsibilities as one of the Hokage's assistants has been affecting his abilities as clan head. He's even been handing off tasks as clan head to other members recently to make room for his growing workload. I was always going to succeed him as clan head but that wasn't going to be possible if I stayed in the ANBU. Once I've moved out of the house, we'll officially transfer over the title of clan head." Itachi explained, which seemed to placate his younger brother.

"Clan head, huh? I guess that makes sense." Sasuke muttered mostly to himself.

"I'm not so old that I need to pass on the torch. I wouldn't mind staying clan head for a few more years. Give you and Izumi time to settle in without the burden of responsibility weighing you down." Fugaku offered, but after all the talks they'd had on the subject he already knew that Itachi's mind was made up.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm sure it would be more troubling to continue as we are." Itachi politely declined.

"If that's what you want." Fugaku told him.

"Your father's been building up a lot of stress recently so I'm sure this…" The conversation continued but it faded from Sasuke's thoughts as he picked at his plate.

"Clan head, huh? I guess Itachi was going to take over for dad at some point. Even if it's brought up out of the blue it was always going to happen. But… if things had been different. If Itachi couldn't take over for father, would they even consider someone like him for the position?"

…suk…

"I'm strong. That not even a question. There was only one person in our age group that rivaled me. I am a talented shinobi, but…"

…uke!...

"My personality has always been called into question. "A young prodigy wasting his potential" they'd say. "He's nothing but a flirt" he'd hear whispered. I told myself that I wouldn't care what happened to my reputation as long as I was able to do what I needed to do, but…"

"Sasuke!" Sakura's voice finally cut through the fog of Sasuke's thoughts.

"Yes, cutie?" Sasuke asked, sending a cold shiver down the girl's back.

"Don't call me that!" Sakura berated him with a raised, shaking fist and a vein bulging on her forehead.

"What's with you?" Karin butted in with crossed arms. "You've been spacing out ever since we passed our gennin test. I know we never really spoke in the academy, but you were never this ridiculous." The red head told him.

"You're just over exaggerating. I'm the same as always." Sasuke waved off their concerns. "Now we're about to be assigned today's missions so lower the volume and let me pay attention." Sasuke said, angering both of them since that's exactly why they were trying to get his attention in the first place.

"Team Seven." The Hokage called for their squad to come up to his desk. Gennin missions could be handed out by pretty much anyone ranked chunnin and higher but the hokage still took some time in the morning to hand out a few of them. Today looks like their chance to receive a mission from the village leader. "Here you are." Dan said, handing over a since assignment when the group got up to him.

"Just one mis-huh?" Obito was about to joke about today's light workload when he noticed the rank assigned to the mission. "C-rank?" Obito questioned, gaining the full attention of his students. "It hasn't even been a week since they passed their gennin test. Isn't it too early for this?" Obito further asked.

"What's the big deal? If we're qualified for the mission, then it doesn't matter how long we've been shinobi." Sasuke countered.

"There's a reason new shinobi don't get missions ranked higher then D. We simply don't have the experience for this." Sakura reasoned. Though she was curious as too why the Hokage thought they were ready.

"It's just a simple delivery mission. If the recipient was located in the Land of Fire it would be ranked D. You'd have no issues completing the mission alone so I thought this would be a good opportunity for your students to see the world outside the village."

"So, it's not in the Land of Fire." Obito remarked as he unrolled the scroll. "Ah, so we're going to Sunagakure. Yeah, that should be fine." Obito nodded. Out of all the great villages Sunagakure were their closest allies. Despite the rank it was a low risk assignment.

"You'll leave the village in two hours. Since we're asking this of fresh gennin on short notice we'll be providing travel packs if requested. If you want to pack your own pack then keep in mind that it takes a team three days on average to travel from Konoha to Suna so pack enough supplies for five days and enough money to resupply for the return trip." Dan advised them before dismissing them to hand out more assignments. They all agreed to meet at the front gate when it was time to leave.

When Sasuke left the tower, he was greeted by the sight of his older brother leaning on the wall surrounding the building. "You'll be traveling outside the village?" Itachi asked.

"I take it father told you. Shouldn't he be keeping mission assignment secret or something?" Sasuke responded as he walked past his brother.

"He mentioned it when I explained why we wouldn't be there for dinner. Wanted us to enjoy our celebration." Itachi told him as he removed himself from the wall and followed after his little brother.

"I still need to get ready for the mission you know." Sasuke retorted, though he couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his lips.

"That won't be necessary. Father and I already gathered everything you'll need. You just have to pick it up from the house before heading out." Itachi told him.

"How nice of you." Sasuke said as he started to quicken his pace. "Then I just need to worry about eating too much. Since I'll be taking full advantage of your generosity!" Sasuke called back to his brother as he made his way toward the restaurant. With a smile Itachi followed right behind him.

An hour later had the pair sitting at a booth with a small pile of empty plates spread out before them. It was before the lunch rush so the two weren't in any big rush to leave their seats after their meal.

"That last plate might have been a bad idea." Sasuke breathed out as he held a hand over his stuffed belly. Itachi didn't comment but quietly sipped his drink instead. A comfortable silence fell between them as the other patrons continued to chat among themselves.

Itachi was the first to break that silence. "Sasuke, can I ask you something?" Itachi asked.

"Hm? Of course. Ask away." Curious Sasuke gave his brother the go ahead.

"Why did you become strong?" Itachi asked, carefully watching his little brother to see his reaction."

"What kind of question is that?" Sasuke quickly shot back. His confusion was written all over his face.

"Most people become strong because they want to use that strength for something. Now that you're a shinobi you'll only grow stronger as you complete assignments and gain experience. So, I wanted to know why you chose to become strong." Itachi explained.

"You're pretty strong too. What pushed you to become strong?" Sasuke asked.

"That's not an answer." Itachi pointed out.

"I'll answer if you go first." Sasuke gave his ultimatum.

Fair enough. It wasn't like Itachi was against telling his little brother. "That's a little complicated for me." Itachi began, getting a raised eyebrow from his brother. "I'm sure you learned about the last war during the academy. One of the first memories I have comes from the end of that travesty. Despite having no business there, I wandered into the aftermath of battlefield that had occurred near the village. While there I managed to stumble across a man laying among the dead who still clung onto his live. He was grateful when I rushed to his aid, but that changed when he saw our clan's symbol on my back. He'd fought against our village and knew then that I was an Uchiha. Despite giving my best to save the man he lashed out and attempted to take my live. It was only happenstance that Father was walking the battlefield looking for survivors. He rushed to my side and cut the man down before he could harm me. One that day, before I had even set foot in the academy, I had witnessed the horrors of the shinobi world." It was the first time Sasuke was hearing this and Itachi had his full attention as he continued. "I wanted to keep Konoha from going through that again, so I became strong. I wanted to become so strong that all the other villages would fear attacking the village, that they would choose to lay down their weapons and give up on being shinobi after comparing us. But that's no longer what drives me."

"What changed your mind?" Sasuke asked.

"The world became more peaceful." Itachi answered him. "Every year the likelihood of war breaking out drops and I can breathe easier knowing that I'll likely never have to see another corpse ridden warzone. The villages are still producing shinobi but I know now that my original goal was a little too idealistic and naive to get rid of the shinobi system all together, so I've come to terms with that. But I won't deny, I felt hollow when I realized the goal I'd put so much work into achieving had been fulfilled without me. I was happy for the world, and yet frustrated with myself. My training routine started to slip and my growth as a shinobi came to a halt. For months it felt like I was losing my place in the world." Itachi admitted.

"And then came the day we were supposed to take on a mission but had to turn it down when Tenma became bedridden. The squad sent out in our place was annihilated during an ambush. The details of the disaster were hidden away from public view, but I chose to break in and sneak a peek at the documents. I had to know what happened and as I read the report my heart sank. I knew, even if I'd have faired better, that if we had taken that assignment as intended that we would have suffered the same fate." Hearing his brother's words, a cold chill clutched Sasuke's heart. To hear that Itachi was alive because of pure luck was unsettling to say the least.

"I was reminded of how cruel our world still was. Even if we could avoid war we still faced death on a daily basis. It was then that I once more resolved myself to become strong. I wanted to be strong so that I could always return home with the men and women who fought by my side. That, is why I'm strong." Itachi finished.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"I believe it's your turn now." Itachi reminded his little brother.

"Like hell I could go after hearing all that!" Sasuke blurted out. "Besides," Sasuke continued with a sigh "you already know why I need to become stronger. Don't you?"

"I'd like to hear it from." Itachi told him. "You're stronger than I was at your age, but that strength isn't something you can rely on forever. It has a limit."

"…I went through the pain of losing him once. I refuse to go through that again even if it means sacrificing these eyes." Sasuke told his brother.

"And then what? Will you still be able to protect him once your power is gone?" Itachi asked.

"I need to get ready." Sasuke said as he stood up from his seat, a hard look on his face. "I'll see you when I get back." He said as he left his brother behind. When he arrived home his father was waiting for him by the door.

"You'll need to leave soon if you're to make it on time. Make sure to see your mother before heading out." Fugaku said as he handed over the pack, he and Itachi had put together.

"Right." Sasuke muttered as he grabbed the pack and went to walk past him.

"Sasuke." Fugaku started without turning towards his son. "I understand your concern, but don't go recklessly involving yourself in Naruto's affaires." The words hit Sasuke like a brick and he froze mid step. "This is a delicate issue. One wrong move and it will all fall apart. This isn't a problem you can flirt away."

Spinning around Sasuke screamed, "So you expect me to just sit back and watch these vultures peck away at him!?" When Fugaku said nothing the young Uchiha stormed up to him. "Well?"

"Did you know that I was the one who pushed for your team to tack this mission?" Fugaku asked, deflating Sasuke's rage, if only slightly. "You see, we're dealing with a delicate issue right now. If possible, we'd like to ask for help from an ally we can trust. Of course, we need to send them the request first. So, I made sure to ask some who'd take this issue very seriously." At this Fugaku looked down into his son's eyes. "How you feel isn't wrong, but you won't be able to protect your friend as you are now." Fugaku said, and while Sasuke was annoyed with his remark he was still listening. "Your opponents aren't always going to be flighty little girls who will swoon over you at the trop of a hat. Use your time wisely and gain as much experience as possible. That way, when the moment comes, you can protect what's important to you." Fugaku advised his son.

…

For a moment, the two of them stood in the entrance starting back at one another. Sasuke was the first to break the lock as he turned to walk into the house. "If I don't say goodbye to mom now then I'll be late showing up." Sasuke grumbled as he walked off.

Fugaku turned his attention back to the sky above as he fell into his thoughts. "You're a skilled shinobi, but your immaturity is a hindrance. As your father, I take full responsibility. That day, when you were convinced your friend died because of you, I gave you your space because I thought that was what you needed. But I was wrong. I believed you would be fine when I told you that Naruto was alive and you were so happy that your tears wouldn't stop, but your heart had suffered a deep scar that wouldn't be so easily healed. I promise you; I'll make up for my shortcomings and forge you into a fine young man."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter eleven is complete!**

**Okay, so I'll be moving to a new house ****tomorrow which means no internet for at least a few days. I wont be able to upload new chapters or answer questions for a little bit, but I hope you all enjoy the chapter.**

**(Marshalanime9 does not own Naruto)**

It seems that no one was happy with his performance during his meeting with Kusagakure's marriage candidate. His ears still rung from the verbal beatdown his mother gave him when he got home. But he didn't think he did that badly. They were just blowing it out of proportion. Still, it seems like they were dodging Amaya's requests for a second outing so they could drill more anti-seduction training into him.

Four days have passed since then and Naruto currently found himself on top of the Hokage's tower to get his photo taken for his shinobi ID, his new headband placed firmly on his head. He'd given Dan's proposal some thought. It wouldn't hurt to have a little extra protection, and it wasn't like he had to actually do anything romantic with them. However, there was on small detail they had to take care of. With their ages being the way they were the marriage wasn't legally binding until Naruto came of age. This was something they could bypass by instating Naruto into the shinobi forces. Since they were expected to throw their lives away for the good of the village, and in turn the nation, shinobi were entitled to specific privileges. One such privilege is a lower marital age.

"I was going to become a shinobi anyway." Naruto thought to himself as the cameraman told him to hold still and got ready to snap the picture.

The skies over the Land of Growth were bright and sunny, casting filtered light through the treetops. Located in one of the nation's vast forests was a splendidly crafted manor hidden among the beauty of nature. A gentle breeze past by and the wind-chimes performed their melody in response. It was in this serenity that one Hinata Hyuga was laying in the grass, one leg propped up on the other, her head resting on folded arms, and a scowl placed on her face.

"At least try to relax." Hinata's sensei, Kurenai Yuhi told her in exasperation from her chair on the patio. Kurenai was a rather beautiful woman with a well-known reputation as one of Kunoha's great genjutsu specialists. She really did care for her student, but Hinata could be quite the handful.

Tilting her head back Hinata stared at her sensei with an annoyed. "I have better things to do then wait around for a response to some letter I know nothing about. Especially when they can't even give us the courtesy of letting us in their village!" Hinata complained.

"It can't be helped" Shino said from a short distance away. He'd been busying himself with bug hunting to pass the time when he overheard the two. "Takigakure has always kept the exact location of their village hidden. That's never changed and shows no signs of changing in the near future." The Aburame clan heir explained.

"So, what!?" Hinata, having no better response, blurted out as she rolled over so that her back would be facing Shino.

"Hey!" A voice ran out around them. This put the team on alert with both Kurenai and Hinata jumping to their feet, Shino taking his eyes from the ground to take better take in his surroundings, and from inside the manor the sound of their last team member running for the door could be heard. The sound of buzzing quickly brought their attention toward the sky. "You're the Konoha shinobi, right? Let's be friends!" Someone about Hinata and Shino's age excitedly called out as they quickly descended.

This was understandably not what they were expecting and even Kiba, who'd slowed his pace after hearing that, opened up the door with an odd expression on his face. With their sense of danger dropped to zero the group took in the new arrival's appearance. It was admittedly hard for them to tell at a first glance if this person was a boy or girl, but the clothes made them guess they were a girl. She wore an open dark blue vest over a sleeveless white undershirt that ended a few inches under her chest. Her midriff was left on full display and led into an apron like skirt the same shade of blue as her vest, and from the openings on the sides they could tell she wore fishnet shorts under that. The skirt ended just above her kneed and going down she only had her dark blue sandals left to mention. Her skin was a moka tone that made it hard to tell if it was natural or was the result of heavy tanning and went nicely with the mint color of her shoulder-length hair and expressive orange eyes. When she landed it was easy to see that the buzzing had come from a set of transparent, scaled wings jutting from the small of her back.

Rushing up to the closest person, who happened to be Hinata, the girl quickly grabbed hold of her hands. "My name's Fu and I'll be going back to Konoha with you guys! It's going to be so much fun!" Fu cheerfully told them as her insectoid wings retracted into her body.

"…Wha?" Hinata let out with a mix of confusion and annoyance. This was in start contrast to the excited and joyful expression Fu sported.

"Fu!" A new voice entered the fray accompanied by heavy breathing. It was a young man leading two other men as they ran toward the group. The man had ink black eyes and long, dark brown hair. He, like his two companions, wore a forehead protector engraved with Taki's waterfall symbiol. He wore grey pants, a green shirt, and shinobi sandals. In addition to this, he had a grey shoulder pad on his left shoulder with a brown strap over.

The guy to his right had short, brown curly hair and small black eyes. His outfit consisted of an open violet jacket, with the inside being green, a black top, and dark pants. He also had two holsters attached near each of his elbows.

To his left was a man with short spiky black hair and small black eyes. His outfit consisted of a dark violet vest, with two scrolls attached to it, a light violet turtleneck, and dark green-coloured pants.

They were Shibuki, the village head's son, and two of the village's best jonin, Kegon and Yoro.

"Shibuki! Look, I found them!" Fu, letting got of one of Hinata's hands to wave at the man.

Slowing down the trio took a moment to catch their breaths. "I told you, not to run off on your own." Shibuki breathed out with a stern look directed at the mint haired girl.

"How can I sit still when I finally get to see what's outside the village? I feel like I'm gonna burst any moment now!" Fu proclaimed before turning her attention back to hinata. "So, what do you want to do first? Cards? Backgammon? Musical chairs?" Fu excitedly asked.

As Hinata watched this strange girl her annoyance slowly dwindled. "This feels like…" went through the Hyuga's head as she let out a soft sigh. "Cards, I guess. But I've never really played so you'll have to teach me." Hinata told the girl.

"Great!" Fu cheered as she threw her, and subsequently Hinata's, hands in the air. As Fu was celebrating with her new friend her fellow Taki shinobi were apologizing to their Konoha guests about their exuberant comrade.

At the same time team seven were hunkered down in a rock cropping as violent winds thrashed around them. They had crossed into the Land of Wind with good time but ran into some unfortunate luck yesterday when a sandstorm kicked up late in the afternoon. They were able to backtrack to this spot to lay low till it passed but travel was unthinkable at the moment.

Standing at the edge of their rocky protection and the howling storm beyond Obito was going over their options in his head. "If the storm lets up today then we can still arrive on schedule by skipping out on sleep and moving throughout the night. It'll be rough on them, but they'll live. Though if it keeps up for a few days then our rations will run out. If that happens, I can get us to Suna using kamui but I'd rather let them experience this trip in full if posable." While Obito was thinking of their bast options the three gennin were camped out further in.

"I had heard about sandstorms before, but this is just ridiculous." Sakura commented as the three of them huddled around the fire pit they'd used the night before that had nearly vanished under the sand blowing in. Sakura was grateful for the pack provided to her at the Hokage tower. If she'd packed her own bag, she probably wouldn't have put goggles in, leaving her the only one without a pair. Even if they were out of the worst of the storm here it wasn't perfect. There were countless holes and gaps where sand could be thrown through by a stary gust.

"Yeah." Karin agreed with her teammate. "There's so much sand blowing around I can barely tell when the sun is up." The red head remarked as she stared up at the roaring wind through a gap above them.

"Hey, why did you become shinobi?" Sasuke had kept to himself during their mission, something the girls couldn't say bothered them. So, when he chose now to speak up it was a slight surprise to the pair.

"Are you all right?" Sakura asked after a moment.

"Yeah, what's with the weird question all of a sudden? You're starting to worry me." Karin followed.

His eye weren't on them and he didn't say anything for a good moment so the par almost thought he'd gone back to his silence when he answered. "I come from a long line of accomplished shinobi. My father distinguished himself in the last war and earned a place as the Hokage's assistant. My brother graduated from the academy after only a year and at eight he took part in the chunin exams without a team and passed. Becoming something other then a shinobi never even crossed my mind. So, I guess I'm just curious if you're the same."

"…"

"…"

The two shared a look with one another as they pondered it. They were even more worried about the boy now. Still, they had no reason not to answer.

"Both of my parents are shinobi, so I guess I just fell into it too. Don't get me wrong, they never forced to become a shinobi, but I can't recall ever looking into other options." Sakura told the boy.

"We came from a shinobi clan, but my mother never became one. If I'd wanted I could have easily follow in her footsteps and entered the medical field, but I didn't. Nothing else really caught my attention so I trained to become a shinobi." Karin told him.

So, one of them was like him and fell into their current profession and the other was shown other options and still decided to walk down this path. "…that they would choose to lay down their weapons and give up on being shinobi…" Itachi's words rang through his head. "What would a world without shinobi look like? Would we even have a place in such a world, or would we find something else to do with our lives?" Sasuke wondered to himself as the storm continued to rage.


	12. Chapter 12

**Howdy! Finally finished chapter 12! Hope you all enjoy!**

**(Marshalanime9 does not own Naruto)**

Sunagakure was surrounded by a large natural stone wall with entrances carved through at the four cardinal directions. At the east entrance, the sentries were scouring the twilight enshrouded desert landscape for anything out of the ordinary. The sun was close to emerging from the horizon when one man called out from his post. "A group of four at eleven! They're headed straight for the village!"

The man's superior took hold of his own binoculars to confirm. "Obito Uchiha, huh? Sending a big shot, are they?" The man muttered as he lowered his binoculars. "It's the envoy from Konoha! Send word so they can be welcomed properly!" The man barked out his order.

"Ah! Finally!" Sakura wheezed out as she fell onto her ass just inside the stone passage leading to Suna.

"H-Hee, what's wr-rong, out of breath already?" Karin, who wasn't much better off, asked her pink haired teammate as she leaned over with the hands resting on her knees to keep herself upright.

"Sorry about that?" Their sensei sheepishly apologized. "But at least you didn't have to run under the heat of the sun." Obito told them with a chuckle.

"It's freezing at night! How is that better!?" Sakura blurted out, sending a glare at the man from her spot on the sand.

"Just relax already. We're here so what's the point in worrying about it now?" Sasuke remarked, looking over his shoulder at the girl. Out of the three gennin he was the only one who wasn't out of breath. Despite that he still sported a thick sheen of sweat over his body.

"Easy for you to say. I'm dying over here!" Sakura complained.

"It just means we need to train more!" Karin responded with a huff.

"Ghaa! I know." The pinket whimpered as she flopped onto her back. She knew Karin was right, but she still wanted to complain. "Stupid natural talent." She muttered under her breath.

"We've been expecting you." Sakura heard a voice address them so lifted her head to look at the person. The boy was about their age and wore a reddish-brownish body suit with long sleeves and an upright collar, with mesh armor visible on his wrists and ankles. With this, he wore a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips. He had a wide leather band from his left shoulder to his right hip with which he carried a large gourd and had his forehead protector wrapped around it. He had dark circles around his turquoise eyes with a head of red hair and the kanji for love on his forehead. "I am Gaara of the sand, and I'll be your escort during your stay."

"Mmmmmm! That smells soooo good!" Fu let out after taking a big whiff if the food cooking in the pan. The group had risen with the morning sun and relite the fire from last night to cook up some food that Fu was in the process of drooling over.

"Hee, I might not be that good in the kitchen, but I'll have you know I'm the king of outdoor cooking." This morning's chief, Kiba, told the girl with a confident smirk.

"Woo! Go Kiba!" Fu let lose a cheer as she threw a fist in the air. Her cheers were quickly joined by Akamaru's barks and Kiba silently basked in the praise as he worked the pan.

"Eeh? You never have such a dobby smile when I compliment your cooking." Hinata commented with an annoyed look and raised eyebrow from her seat a little way away.

"Since when have you ever complimented my cooking!?" Kiba immediately shot back with his own annoyed expression.

"What, are you deaf? I compliment it all the time!" Hinata told him.

"Is saying it's edible suppose to be a compliment?" the boy questioned.

"Obviously! Shouldn't a friend be able to tell that much?" Hinata asked, becoming flustered.

"A friend should actually give a compliment when they want to give a compliment!" Kiba countered.

"I apologize for my friend's behavior. I'd hoped they'd be able to contain themselves in front of company, but it would appear that isn't the case." Shino, who was sitting over with the jonin and enjoying a cup of freshly brewed tea.

"No need to apologize. Fu seems happy regardless." Shibuki waved off the concern. Despite the argument Fu was still smiling away.

"Is she important to what you're doing in Konoha?" Kurenai asked as she looked over at the mint haired girl. Glancing back at the trio of Taki shinobi she saw them sporting awkward expressions. "Oh, sorry. We haven't been told what your mission specifically is, just that we'll be escorting you back to the village." Kurenai apologized.

The three men shared a look before Kegon turned to respond. "The village chief wants to maintain the strong bond between our villages, so we need to encourage the younger generation to maintain that bond. Fu was selected as a possible representative from her generation. We're just here to keep her save and offer advise as she settles into her position."

Giving a smile Kurenai nodded. "I see." The woman responded as she went back to sipping her tea.

"It's not a lie, but…" Shibuki thought as his mind drifted off to the prior day's events.

"What are you thinking?! Sending Fu out of the village like this, you know how dangerous it is!" Shibuki bellowed out to his father, village chief Hisen. He was a man of sturdy build with short hair that was brown like his son's, though his age was showing in the few wrinkles on his face and the engrossing white on his brown locks.

"Fu already told you, did she?" Hisen nonchalantly remarked as he rested in his chair.

"Fu has never left the area around the village and is inexperienced, on top of being our jinchiriki! Sending her off to another village is just begging for disaster!" Shibuki tried to reason.

"Konoha is already aware of what she is. It won't be a pro-" Hisen was saying when his son exploded.

"They know!? Since when!? Forget that, this is even worse than I imagined!" Shibuki started to panic.

"Sibuki…" Hisen breathed out. "Calm down and listen." Hisen spoke as village chief instead of speaking as the young man's father. In response Shibuki bite his lip and sat down on the empty cushion. "Fu was the one who let it slip." Hisen said as he raised his hand to cut off whatever it was Shibuki was about to say. "Aside from you and me the only bond she has in this world is with Minato's kid. She told him when they were younger, and the damage had been done. It's not all bad though. To keep us from raising a fuss over it and straining our relationship Konoha agreed to disclosing the identities of both their jinchuriki."

"I'd hardly call that even. Konoha is a large village and can more easily keep their jinchiriki safe." Shibuki said with narrowed eyes.

"Fair enough, but Konoha had no need to tell us anything. Even if our relationship soured Konoha wouldn't suffer greatly." Hisen agreed. "But we did receive some particularly noteworthy information." Hisen said, pausing briefly to see how Shibuki's expression changed. He was intrigued. "Have you ever heard of the Gold and Silver Brothers?" Hisen asked.

"They were a pair of Kumogakure traitors, right? What do they have to do with anything? They've been dead for a long time." Shibuki asked with a tint of annoyance.

"It's said that they were swallowed by the Ninetails during Kumo's attempt to capture it and survived for two weeks by eating the beast's stomach lining. As a result, they took a portion of the fox's power with them when it spat them out. They had become sudo-jinchuriki. Something Kumo tried to replicate for years without success." Hisen explained. "Konoha has succeeded." The man added.

"But a failed attempt always ends in death!" Shibuki, with widened eyes, shouted as her rose from his seat. "Why would Konoha of all places start working on sudo-jinchuriki!?" Shibuki questioned. This tidbit of information was enough to make him reevaluate his perception of Konohagakure. If they could conduct such horrific experiments, then what else have they been up to? How could his father even think of sending Fu to such a place?

"Their sudo-jinchuriki was an accident." Hisen told him as he motioned with his hand for Shibuki to retake his seat. "The current Ninetails jinchuriki is a woman named Kushina Uzumaki. I'm sure you're familiar with the name." Hisen said, getting a nod from his son. "She had a rough pregnancy, nearly loosing the child. Apparently, her body wasn't able to properly keep the fox's chakra from flowing into her unborn baby. The child was weak and sickly, needing constant care to keep him from dying. This boy, like the Gold and Silver Brothers, possesses a portion of the fox's power." Hisen explained.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Shibuki breathed out. It was surprising. Not that the boy held such a secret, but that Shibuki wasn't as shocked as he should be. Naruto had always been a unique person, so the idea kind of just fit.

"Konoha was willing to place their full trust in us by telling us this. They are the one place in the world I can send Fu to without worrying." Hisen said as he leaned forward to place his hands on Shibuki's shoulders. "Shibuki, I'm entrusting you with watching over her in my absence. It's my hope that she can finally make real connections with kids her own age." Hisen said with a warm smile.

"But…" Shibuki started with a worried expression. "To send her off as a bride is a little… much." The young man said.

"Oh, don't worry about that little tidbit. I didn't even tell her about that!" Hisen admitted with a hearty chuckle.

Back in the present Shibuki was watching Fu as she eagerly filled her bowl with Kiba's cooking. "We're suppose to give the scare off Kusa's bride candidate by presenting our own. It's hard to tell how Fu would react so father didn't tell her. Said that the two of them were already so close that Fu would complete the mission without having all the details, but I'm just not sure." The young man thought to himself.

"Hey! Shibuki!" Fu called out to him. "You better hurry up before it's all gone!" The girl happily told him as waved him over.

"I'm coming!" Shibuki replied as he got out of his seat. Regardless of his worries they were already here. Now he could only watch out for the girl the best he could.


	13. Chapter 13

**Finished up chapter 13, hope you all enjoy!**

**(Marshalanime9 does not own Naruto)**

Naruto couldn't stop smiling. Today was beautiful with clear skies, a bright sun, happy villagers, and a new headband wrapped around his forehead. It wasn't exactly how he imagined it would happen, but he was finally a Konoha shinobi and he was going to wear his forehead protector with pride!

"I still remember when I first received my headband. It's an experience you'll never forget." His "wife" Naori expressed with a warm smile of her own as the pair walked down the street.

"Yeah! No way am I ever forgetting this!" Naruto happily said as he turned his face to the woman and readjusted his headband. "I'm a real, Bonafide shinobi now!"

To avoid any unwanted advances, it was decided that at least one of his "wives" would accompany him in public. Though, even with three "wives" it was impossible for schedules to always allow this. When this happens, it'll be up to the ANBU to watch over Naruto. Naori was the first to take this role.

"Though…" Naruto started as his hands moved to rest behind his head and his gaze drifted off. "I was kind of looking forward to being put on a team, ya know." Naruto admitted.

Naori's smile dwindled but didn't vanish as she gave the boy an understanding look. "It can't be helped. We don't have any squads with open slots at the moment. So, I'm afraid you'll have to wait till an opening is available." The Uchiha told him.

All the teams for his year had already been formed and set. The teams from the previous year were all still genin and so they couldn't move out a chunin to make space. The year before that had already been restructured so there weren't any openings there either and so on and so forth. Till they could properly place him anywhere Naruto would be assigned to Orochimaru and helping him with his experiments and research.

Letting out a sigh Naruto let his hand fall to his sides. "Just because I understand it doesn't mean I have to like it." The blond complained with a pout.

At this sight Naori had to restrain a chuckle. "The chunin exams aren't to far off. A spot should open up after that, or you may even be asked to participate with a team if they can't get all their members to sign up. Regardless, it's only temporary so don't get too worked up over it." Naori assured the boy.

"Hhmmm, I guess." Naruto muttered. That's when a question entered his mind, "What about you?"

"Pardon?" Naori responded with her own question and a raised eyebrow.

"You're genin team, what was it like?" Naruto clarified as he gave the woman a bright, expectant grin.

"Oh, well…" Naori started, looking away from the boy as she moved her right arm to rest under her chest while her left hand came up to rest on her chin. "I didn't spend much time as a genin. During the first chunin exams that came up after I graduated, I was asked the take part with a pair of genin that had failed their last attempt. I passed and chose to move on from my original team rather then wait for them to catch up. Our sensei liked to take things slow and so we were still handling simple D-rank missions months after graduation. I heard it took my old team three years to make an attempt at the chunin exams." Naori told him.

"Heard? Couldn't you have, ya know, asked them?" Naruto questioned.

"I probably could have, but…" Naori admitted as her face scrunched up. "Naruto, how do you think genin teams are decided when a class graduates?" The woman asked.

"Uuh, they put people who work well together, I guess." Naruto made his best guess.

"Close enough." Naori said, giving the boy a smirk. "In most cases a team is put together based on how well the team's individual skillsets work off of one another. As an example, most classes that have an Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka will pair them together after graduating since these three clans have been working together for longer than the village has existed. Their techniques work well together and a team comprised of these three clans is assured some level of success."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Naruto agreed with a nod.

"But a team that works well together on a skill level doesn't necessarily work well on a personal level." Naori pointed out. "My old team was like that. Me worked well enough while on assignments but despite our sensei's best efforts we were always at each other's throats. Honestly, it was a huge relieve when I could finally put my time with them behind me." The woman admitted. "I haven't spoken to them in years. I probably wouldn't even recognize them if we passed on the street." Naori said, only to notice the disappointed expression her blond companion had. Putting on a smile the Uchiha reached out to ruffle the blond's hair. "Live isn't always how you want it, but you got to make of it what you can."

"You'll stay here during your visit." Gaara informed his guests as he opened the door to their temporary living space. It was a simple two bedroom flat with a kitchen/living area. The building they were in was one of four they had in the village dedicated solely to foreign shinobi, one near each of the four main entrances. Outside of a few notable cases the buildings went mostly unused since they never had large numbers of foreign shinobi in the village.

Filling in past their guide the Konoha team started to drop off their packs and settle in. Once Sakura's shoulders were free she immediately rotated and stretched out her shoulders as she walked over to the window. Looking outside she once more took in the sight of the sand colored buildings that all seemed to share a circular shape. "We've been walking through the streets all morning but I'm still in awe at how different everything is." The girl said aloud as she marveled at the sight.

"You'll have to get use to it. Every place has their own style and their own reasons for being that way." Obito remarked as he sat down on the couch provided to them.

"Sandstone is the most readily available building material in the area and helps obscure details from anyone who can fly above the village. The shape helps lower the erosion that comes with sand filled wind since a curve will let more grains pass over without resistance then a flat wall." Gaara explained from his spot over by the door.

"It makes perfect sense when you put it like that." Sakura said as she turned to look at the red haired boy.

"Kusagakure's builds its buildings pretty closely to how Konoha does, but the layout is completely different and there are a lot of fast growing plants and fungus native to the area that they have to cut back on a regular basis." Karin tossed her tidbit of foreign building information.

"Oh yeah, you use to live there didn't you?" Sakura recalled as she turned to her red haired teammate. Karin had been in the village for so long that it felt weird thinking of her as anything other than a Konoha citizen.

"I guess you could say that." Karin replied, giving a shrug before turning her attention to Gaara. "Any idea on how long we'll have to wait for a reply?" The girl asked. Though they had yet to meet the Kazekage the first thing the group did was head to the Kazekage's tower to deliver the message.

"That would depend on the message, but I'm sure lord Kazekage will respond before too long." Gaara responded.

The Third Kazekage sat behind his desk watching as three of his shinobi entered his office. He was a tall man of fair complexion with a short mess of dark-blue hair and narrow yellow eyes. He wore the normal Kazekage attire minus the Kage hat and flowing ankle-length white cape.

The first to enter was Rasa's daughter, Temari. She had teal eyes and sandy blonde hair, which was gathered into four consecutive pigtails. Her outfit consisted of a single light purple-coloured, off-the-shoulders garment that extended to halfway down her thighs, with a scarlet sash tied around her waist. In addition to incorporating fishnet worn over her shoulders and legs, specifically on her right calf and her left thigh, she also wore her black forehead protector around her neck.

The next to enter was a girl named Sen. She had brown eyes with black pupils and sandy-brown hair pulled back into a tight braid that stretched from the top of her head to the area between her shoulder blades. She wore her forehead protector across her head. She wears a mesh armor body suit under a dark pink belly shirt bound at the front with three buttons, and white pants that stretched down to her mid shin.

The last was Yome, a girl considerable shorter than the other two. She had brown hair tied in two short ponytails curled. She also wore her forehead protector around her forehead. She sported two blushes on each side of her face and had orange eyes with black pupils and wore a pink dress over mesh armor.

"Thank you for coming so quickly." The third told the trio.

"Of course, lord Kazekage." Temari gave a slight bow as she addressed the village leader.

The man gave her a slight nod before leveling his gaze over all three of them. "Now, before I delve into details, I want to make it clear that this assignment is completely voluntary. You three can refuse to take part without repercussion." The Kazekage told them, getting a few wide-eyed expressions as he watched the three exchange a few glances with one another. "We have other qualified candidates who can take this mission in your stead. I'm overing this mission to the three of you first due to your relationship with the target." The man told them as he held up a picture of a familiar blond, gaining confused and worried looks from the girls. "The assignment is to act as bridal candidates for Naruto Uzumaki and will be sent to Konohagakure for the foreseeable future."

"B-Bridal candidates!" Yome blurted out. Her voiced concern was shared by the others.

"Forgive me lord Kazekage, but this is a bit…" Sen started, trying to find the right words. "Sure, we've known Naruto for years, but to bring up marriage all of a sudden." She said, hoping to get her point across with that.

"That's why the mission is voluntary." The man restated.

"You said were supposed to "act" as bridal candidates, so we're not actually heading off to get married?" Temari tried to clarify. She caried for the blond, that wasn't in question, but not once had she ever even considered hooking up with him.

"That is correct." The man replied, gaining quiet sighs of relief from the trio of girls. "However," He started, renewing the tension. "Should you actually form an intimate relationship with Uzumaki we would not complain. I expect you to make some attempt to court the boy if you decide to take this mission." After hearing that a moment of silence passed between the group.

"I'm sorry! But I can't accept this mission!" Yome was the first to respond when the third finished, giving a deep bow as she did so.

"Very well, you're dismissed then." The man told her as he motioned for her to leave the room. As she stood back up and turned to leave the Kazekage turned his attention to the remaining two. "You need not give your response now. Think it over tonight and I'll call you back tomorrow for your answer. Now dismissed." The man told them before motioning for them to leave as well. The two shared an uneasy look before leaving the Kazekage's office. When they were gone the Kazekage opened a folder laying on his desk filled with dossier of various young female shinobi in the village. He needed to narrow down who best to send out in Yome's place, as well as possible replacements for the other two.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14, done and ready to go! Hope you all enjoy!**

**(Marshalanime9 does not own Naruto)**

"How would you say his progress is going?" Dan asked as he looked over the reports laid out on his desk. The Kusa group were getting restless so he needed to know if he could give in to their request for another meeting or if he had to give them the run-around for a while longer.

"It progressing as well as it can given the circumstances." Hachiro responded with a slight look of annoyance marring his beautiful features, something Dan noticed but said nothing as he let the man continue. "With the restrictions given to me I'm only able to enlist half of my teachings at best. If you'd allow me to teach him uninhibited then-" Hachiro was saying when Dan cut him off.

"Not happening." Dan swiftly said as he raised a hand to quiet the man. Ignoring Hachiro's narrowed eyes, the Hokage continued. "You're to train Naruto in anti-seduction techniques and only anti-seduction techniques."

"My lord, please!" Hachiro implored. "Training him this way is like teaching someone how to look right without ever explaining what left is. Certainly not imposable but it's not ideal either. Just one night with one of our department's shinobi will be enough. It doesn't even have to be someone from the department, anyone will do. He just needs some experience to help sink in what I've been teaching him."

"But that's the problem, there is no one to fill that role." Dan reminded the man. "I will not force him into anything he isn't comfortable with. He'll decide when he's ready for that, and no, you are not permitted to persuade him into such." Dan commanded.

"Fine." Hachiro's annoyance only deepened but he cleared his expression before continuing. "Naruto understands the risks involved in battles of seduction, but he's far to trusting and optimistic. His only redeeming trait is his obliviousness toward the female form, though I fear that will disappear as his training continues. Truthfully, if it wasn't a direct order from you to train this boy I would have dropped him from the program. He has no potential in the field of seduction."

Letting out a sigh Dan placed a hand to his temple as he leaned back in his chair. "So, you're saying the training is more of a detriment then an improvement." The Hokage winced. He knew it would be an uphill battle, but this is beyond what he was expecting.

"That would be a fair assessment, yes." Hachiro replied with a nod. "There's little I can do with how Naruto is currently." The man added.

Dan took a moment to ponder what to do from here. They were busy setting up layers of defense around Naruto, but it was all mute if the boy himself was their weakest link in all of this. If they couldn't improve Naruto's own resistance, then they were just slapping band aids over the problem instead of addressing it. "Thank you for your report. For now, we'll cut his lessons back to once a week while we think of a solution." Dan informed the man before dismissing him.

The sun shone brightly over Sunagakure even in midafternoon. At the eastern entrance team seven were getting ready to head back home, making one last look at their gear to make sure they had everything they needed. Along with them was a team from Suna that was to travel with them to Konoha. A team of three girls and one man, Temari, Sen, Yukata, and Rasa.

Yukata, a resent graduate like the Konoha genin was excited to be going on a mission outside the village. She was a fair-skinned girl with long, dark hair and large, brown eyes framed by noticeable eyelashes. She wore a grey midriff vest over a short plain shirt, revealing her bare stomach. She wore arm-guards and a dark skirt. Additionally, she wore black stockings and a Sunagakure forehead protector. "Wow! I can't believe I'm already leaving the village! It feels like I graduated just yesterday!" The excited lass happily said to her two female teammates. Temari and Sen, while unfamiliar with this girl, tried their best not to make the conversation awkward despite the uneasy feeling they had about their assignment.

"That's nice Yukata, but…" Sen replied as she gave the girl a worried look. "Too be so excited over a mission like this…" The girl questioned.

"Sure, heading off to maintain good relations with Konoha isn't the flashiest mission ever, but being able to see the world outside the village will make up for it, no problem!" Yukata happily told them.

At that both Temari and Sen shared a look with one thought on their mind. "She was paying attention during the mission debrief, right?" Once the team was set in stone they'd all been given the details whether they'd already been told or not. So, it's not like she wasn't told specifically what they were heading off to do.

"You do know HOW we're suppose to maintain that good relationship, right?" Temari tentatively asked.

"We're suppose to get along with this Naruto guy, right? No problem! I'm great at making friends." Yukata replied. Temari and Sen once more exchanged a look and silently decided it wasn't worth explaining. They didn't have to hook up with Naruto so it wouldn't hurt the mission too greatly if Yukata was misunderstanding it somewhat.

While this was going on Rasa had approached team seven's jonin instructor. "I heard you were caught in a sandstorm on your way here. I hope it didn't cause too much trouble for you." Rasa inquired. He was a man with auburn hair, dark eyes and usually sported a stern look on his face. He wore a simple black jacket and pants with mesh armor underneath.

"It only held us up for a day, so nothing too serious." Obito told the man with an easygoing smile. He was helping his squad reexamine their packs, but this was their third time going through them since last night, so he wasn't too worried about it.

"The winds along the path to Konoha have been picking up as of late. It's likely that we'll encounter another sandstorm before we reach the edge of the desert." Rasa informed the man, earning two jolts of concern from Sakura and Karin. "If we can maintain our direction then I can shield us from the sand, but I'd rather find shelter and wait it out seeing as you've brought along genin who are unfamiliar with the desert. So, I hope you'd stoked enough food to last the days it may take to wait out a storm." Rasa said, causing the two Konoha girls to start sweating bullets.

"We've checked and rechecked. Trust me, we'll be fine!" Obito assured the man with a thumbs up. Meanwhile Sakura and Karin were silently praying for good weather.

"No heartfelt goodbye?" Sasuke joked as he slid his pack over his shoulder and stood up. Next to him stood their escort, Gaara. "We might not see each other for a long time you know?" The Uchiha remarked with a grin.

"I doubt it'll be ass long as you expect." Gaara responded, getting a curious look from the raven haired boy. I've recently been appointed to a diplomatic role between Sunagakue and Konohagakure, so I'll be making regular trips between our villages." Gaara told him.

Sasuke in turn eyed the boy up for a moment before turning to head out into the dunes. "That so? Then I guess I'll be seeing you then." The boy said as he gave a brief wave over his shoulder.

He only made it a few steps before Gaara spoke again. "You're not how I expected you to be." When the Uchiha turned to face him again with a quirked eyebrow he continued. "I imagined you to be an unrepentant flirt. Yet I haven't seen that from you at all."

"Naruto's been talking about me, huh? Wish he had nicer things to say though." Sasuke responded with a dry chuckle as he racked his right hand through a portion of his hair.

"He clearly looks up to you, but you're always involved with some form of girl problem when ever he brings you up." Gaara told him, getting a slight twitch from the boy.

"Well, that's not necessarily wrong." Sasuke remarked as he recomposed himself. "I do have some standards though. I'm not going to go around breaking heart while on the job, unless that is the job I'm given of course!" Sasuke told him with a cocky grin.

"I'm glad to hear that. It would have been troubling otherwise." Gaara honestly told him, gaining a slight chuckle from the boy. But after a nice moment of mirth, the Uchiha's smirk faded.

Now with a serious expression Sasuke leveled his gaze with Gaara's. "Hey, you mind if I ask you something?" Sasuke asked, gaining the boy's approval before continuing. "You're pretty strong, up there with the strongest of your village, why?"

"Why I am strong, not how?" Gaara asked, getting a nod from the boy. It wasn't something he was typically asked, so it took him a little by surprise. Still, he answered with little hesitation. "I'm strong so I can protect the village."

"Despite everything you've been through, you'd use your strength for the village?" Sasuke questioned.

Closing his eyes Gaara responded. "I see that Naruto talks about me as well."

"Don't worry too much about it. I'm not the kind of guy to view you any different because of what you are." Sasuke assured him.

"It was Naruto who opened my eyes to the darkness I was starting to fall into." Gaara said as he opened his eyes. "It's thanks to him that I was able to let go of the resentment I was building up towards the village, and it's because of him that I could strive to become accepted. It's been slow, but I've gained the respect of more and more of the village over the years. So, I'll use my strength to keep them safe till the whole village comes to except me and long after that."

When Gaara was finished Sasuke took a moment to take it in. He gave a quick nod before turning toward the desert once more. "Hit me up when you visit the village. I'll return the favor and show you around the village." Sasuke told the boy as he walked off.


	15. Chapter 15

**How have you been everyone? Got chapter 15 ready for you. Hope you all enjoy!**

**(Marshalanime9 does not own Naruto)**

"Whywhywhywhywhy-" Ran through Naruto's mind as he sat in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Steam from the nearby bath rose as he felt the sponge slid up and down his back. Suddenly, the motion stopped and a mocha colored hand reached past his head holding the sponge.

"Okay, my turn!" Fu's joyful voice ran through Naruto's ear.

Trying not to show any hesitation Naruto shakily took the offered sponge and put on a forced smile. "No problem…" The blond said as he looked behind him at the excited girl who was completely bare. A fact he'd be all to reminded of if he looked any further down than her shoulders.

Earlier that day.

"Wow! So, this is Konoah?" Fu marveled as she walked past the main gate's threshold. "It's so open. I can see the sky go on forever!" Fu remarked with a big smile as she stared up at the sky. Takigakure was located at the base of a giant tree, so while plenty of sunlight filtered through you couldn't see the sky from the village. "And those must be the Hokage faces!" Fu exclaimed as she lowered her vision to the cliff face at the other side of the village. "It's WAY bigger than I thought it would be!" The girl remarked.

"Fu, come over here!" Shibuki called out, gaining the girl's attention as her head swiveled around to look at him. He was standing over by a booth built into the wall with a pair of shinobi sitting inside. With him were the others from their trip here. "We need to sign in before we can enter the village and I can't sign for you." The man told her with a serious expression.

"Oh! Sorry! I'm coming!" Fu blurted out as she ran over.

After signing in Fu was excitedly looking around as the group started to make their way through the village. Everywhere she looked seemed to fascinate her. "So where are we going first? I hear the view from atop the Hokage monument is amazing! Maybe we can start there? Oh! But Konoha has hot springs, right? I wanna go there! And we can't forget Ichiraku! Naruto says the ramen there is the best in the world. No way am I missing the chance to try it!" Fu rambled on excitedly, animatedly moving about as she went over the options.

"Are first stop is the Hokage's tower so we can report in." Yoro told the girl.

"We have to deliver lord Hisen's response as part of our mission. You can go sightseeing after." Kegon added.

At this Fu's excitement falters, though only slightly. "Right, mission first." The girl responded as she glanced back with a half-smile.

"Don't sweat it." Kiba said as he came up next to her. "You're gonna be here for a while, right? You've got plenty of time to take in the sights." The boy said with Akamaru giving his own input with a yip.

"Right!" Fu happily replied as she pumped both fists close to her chest.

"We'll show you everything there is to see in Konoha!" Hinata told her as she came up to wrap an arm around the girl's shoulders.

"We've spent our entire lives in the village. If there's something we can't show you then it's not meant for sightseeing in the first place." Shino remarked.

"All right! I'm getting pumped again!" Fu cheered as she threw her arms in the air.

Off in Orochimaru's research facility Naruto was assisting with an experiment that required a massive source of chakra. Naruto's role in this was to supply the chakra and sat in a circular sealing array that was connected to a much larger sequence of seals in the center of the large room. While he was busy pumping chakra into the seals around him to feed into the massive ball of chakra forming above the larger sealing diagram a team of shinobi were positioned around the room to maintain a barrier around the mass of chakra.

"We've collected enough chakra, proceed to phase two." Came a voice over intercom. In an adjacent room were several people busy watching the live readings and oversaw this test. If they said jump you asked how high.

This is where Naruto's main role came to an end as two more shinobi in similar circles to him connected to the larger diagram and a man tapped him on the shoulder to let him know that they'd be switching spots. Naruto simply didn't have the chakra control to assist with this stage, so he had to leave it to those who excelled at chakra control like these three. As Naruto headed for the exit a researcher stationed in the room to observe the test with his own eyes gave him a nod. "Thank you for your assistance. We'll let you know if we need help in the future."

When Naruto entered the hallway, he was met with the sight of Orochimaru leaning against the opposite wall. "Seems everything is going well." The last of this world's sannin remarked. This was followed by the sound of a muffled explosion from the room behind Naruto. "Or perhaps not." The man quipped as a worried expression formed on Naruto's face.

"Should we… check on them…?" Naruto asked as he looked back at the door he'd just come out of.

"No, the alarm hasn't been raised so the barrier must have held back the damage. They'd probably just feel embarrassed if I walked in now." Orochimaru said with a smirk. Pushing himself off the wall Orochimaru started to walk down the hall. "Follow me if you would." The man said as he motioned for the blond to come with him. "Tell me Naruto, what do you want to be in the future?" Orochimaru asked as the walked down the hall.

"What's this all of a sudden?" Naruto countered with his own question as he placed his hands behind his head. "I'm gonna be Hokage!" The boy proclaimed with a big grin.

"So that hasn't changed, has it?" Orochimaru replied with a slight chuckle. "I shouldn't be surprised." The man said as he patted Naruto's head. "But," He started as he removed his hand. "You'll have a hard time chasing your dream if you stay here." Orochimaru told the boy.

"Huh, wha'da mean by that?" Naruto questioned.

"Well, tell me this, what qualifies someone to be Hokage?" Orochimaru asked.

"That's easy! The Hokage is the strongest shinobi in the village, and everyone respects them!" Naruto answered with a big grin.

"You're partly correct." Orochimaru remarked. "Strength IS important for the Hokage, but it's not THE most important quality." The man said, getting a curious glance from the blond boy. "There are shinobi in our village stronger than the fourth, and yet he's still Hokage. Why do you think that is?" The man asked.

"Uuh?" Naruto responded with a slack jaw as he thought about it. He'd never actually given it much thought, so he kind of just assumed the Hokage was the strongest by default.

"It's because the people respect him." Orochimaru told the boy when it appeared, he was drawing a blank.

"Well duh." Naruto replied, practically rolling his eyes. "I just said that everyone respects the Hokage." Naruto said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yet a person doesn't become respected because they're the Hokage, they become Hokage because they're respected." The sannin said, causing the blond to nearly stop in place for a moment. "That's why staying here, away from the public eye will only hinder your ambitions. You need to get out there and gather people around you with that natural charisma of yours."

"…But, Hasn't my "natural charisma" gotten me into this stupid marriage problem?" Naruto couldn't help but ask. Wasn't getting along with everyone a problem?

"That's because you're young. The other villages intend to take advantage while your brain is still developing, to mold you to their will. It's not a problem you'll have to worry about once your older." Orochimaru told the boy. It was a relief to hear that the problem would eventually go away on his own, but Naruto would prefer that to happen sooner rather than later.

"Okaaay, but what am I supposed to do? I got placed here because there weren't any teams available" Naruto commented.

"You were assigned to me, not the research facility." Orochimaru corrected the boy as he came to a stop on front of a set of doors.

"But you're always working here, so what's the difference?" Naruto asked with an annoyed look.

"It's a significant difference." Orochimaru told him as he opened the doors to reveal a large empty room on the other side. Turning to the boy Orochimaru looked eyes with him as he continued. "I'll be recommending you for the next chunin exam. After you become a chunin they'll be able to swap you in and out of teams more easily. So prepare yourself Naruto, for the next few months I'll be devoting a lot of time towards your training" Orochimaru told him with a grin.

With determination burning in his eyes Naruto countered with his own grin. "You should know I'm always ready, sensei!"

Hours later found Naruto walking down the street feeling a lot more soar than he was expecting. "Oh man, I could really use some Ichiraku's right now." Naruto muttered with a smile, nearing his destination as the sun sank lower in the sky. "Hey old man, I'll take the usual!" Naruto happily said just before pushing the curtain aside to ender the shop. Though as Teuchi called back to confirm Naruto noticed that he wasn't the only customer. A handful of familiar faces were already seated.

After hearing his voice, a head of mint green hair turned till a pair of orange eyes met with Naruto's. She had noodles sticking halfway out of her stuffed mouth as they stared at one another for what felt like an eternity. With a loud slurp Fu practically inhaled what was in her mouth as she hopped out of her seat. "NARUTO!" The girl happily shouted as she threw herself into the boy, nearly knocking them both to the ground as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"FU! What are you doing here?" Naruto joyfully asked as he wrapped his arms around the girl's waist and spung them around a handful of times to help keep his balance. He hadn't seen the girl in months and certainly hadn't been expecting this surprise meeting.

"Oh yeah, listen to this!" Fu replied as she let go and hoped back a step. "The village chief wants to make me some kind of ambassador between our villages! You know what that means, right?" Fu excitedly said, barely able to contain herself as she spoke. "It means I'll get to come and visit all the time! Oooohh, we're going to have so much fun!" Shaking with giddiness the girl told her best friend.

"You're kidding. That's awesome!" Naruto excitedly responded.

"I know, right!" Fu exclaimed.

"Excuse me, but there are others you should greet as well." Shino's voice filtered over, reminding Naruto that he had three more friends sitting in Ichiraku's.

"Ah! Sorry! Sorry!" Naruto quickly apologized as he leaned around Fu to see the three genin of team eight looking at them with amused looks.

"Fu, your food's going to get cold." Hinata playfully chided the girl.

"Ah, my ramen!" Fu let out as she rushed back to her seat.

"So… you guys know each other?" Naruto asked as he took a free seat next to Fu.

"Our team escorted hers to the village after we delivered a letter, mister shinobi." Kiba remarked. Following his line of sight, one would notice that he was staring at Naruto's forehead protector. "Finally got your headband, did ya?"

"Wait! What?" Hinata blurted out as she glanced over at Naruto with wide eyes.

"You of all people should have noticed it first." Shino commented.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Hinata questioned as she rounded on the bug user.

"Yeah, I got it the other day. Looks good on me, right?" Naruto said with a cheeky grin.

"Of course!/You bet!" Hinata and Fu responded immediately.

"I just wish I could have been put on a team like you guys. Instead I'm stuck with Orochimaru-sensei all day." Naruto admitted.

"You know, there's a lot of people who'd rather be in your shoes. I mean, he's one of the sannin. He's a legend!" Kiba told him.

"Yeah, I guess the training is pretty intense." Naruto admitted as he stretched in his seat. "My muscles are killing me."

"A nice soak will help with that." Fu pointed out.

"Yeah, that sounds nice." Naruto said with a dreamy expression. "I'll have to take nice long bath once I get ho-"

"Well what are we waiting for? The bath's waiting! It'll be just like old times!" Fu declared. From further down the line Hinata could be heard choking on her food.

"Yeah, it has been a while hasn't it?" Naruto responded as Kiba and Shino came to Hinata's aid. It didn't take long to dislodge the obstruction.

"You guys should come too! We can all go as one big ol' group of friends!" Fu excitedly said as she turned to team eight.

"Ahaaaha, well… that would be… ya know…" Kiba immediately became flustered, avoiding Fu's gaze as he rubbed Hinata's back while she regained her breath. It was at that moment that Naruto recalled one important fact; Fu was a girl. Starting to panic over what he could arguably be accused of agreeing to Naruto went through the options he had to get out of this.

"There aren't any co-ed bath houses in Konoha. We won't be able to enter together." Shino came to the rescue. Not a single bat house in the village would allow a group of their age to participate in mixed bathing. A few hot springs, sure, but Fu didn't need to know that.

Both Kiba and Naruto inwardly breathed sighs of relieve when Fu's excited expression turned into a disappointed pout. That's when a sinister aura washed over them. "That won't be a problem." Hinata said with a crooked smile. This sent shivers down the boys' backs. "The bath at my place is more than big enough for all of us." The Hyuga struck the deathblow. As Fu renewed her excitement Naruto, Kiba, and Shino knew they were screwed.

"I wouldn't want to intrude. It is getting a little late after all." Naruto made an attempt to flee when Hinata leveled her gaze on him.

"You know you're always welcome in my home!" The girl said with a sweet smile. "And besides," Hinata started, the corner of her smile twitching as her byakugan activated subconsciously. "What's a little skin ship between friends?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Hinata's mother, a woman with fair skin and dark purple hair asked. Upon hearing her daughter's request, the light in her eyes could visibly be seen fading away.

"We're going to be taking a bath together to get to know our new friend!" Hinata restated her "request" with Fu giddily standing next to her. "We are shinobi, showing a bit of skin shouldn't be a big deal!" The girl added with confidence.

Hinata's mother's eyes then drifted from her daughter to the three boys behind her. She was wondering if they put Hinata up to this but that thought quickly faltered when she saw that, like her, they had dead lifeless eyes that were pleading for some way to avoid this fate. Clearly her daughter was the mastermind. "At least have Natsu go in with you." The woman gave in with a sigh.

"Got it!" Hinata cheered as she took off to find the maid. At the same time the last spark of hope vanished from the unfortunate male trio. The Hyuga matriarch silently asked for their forgiveness as she watched them lifelessly follow the pair of girls.

"I blame you for this." Kiba gritted as they were changing. They were grateful that Natsu forced them to undress in sperate rooms.

"Like I could have seen this coming. Hinata's the one who put us here!" Naruto muttered in retaliation.

"There's no use in blaming each other. Your energy would be better used to endure what's about to come." Shino told them as he fastened a towel around his waist. At his words, the other two nodded with renewed determination. This was a challenge they had to overcome!

Their first hurdle came when they set foot on the bath.

"What took you so long?" Fu asked as she bounced over to the trio, causing the three to immediately advert their eyes.

"Miss fu, please! Put a towel on!" Natsu pleaded with the girl as she rushed over with said towel. Natsu was a woman with short, dark green hair and like the rest of her clan, she has large white eyes.

Fu simply gave the woman an odd look. "But we're taking a bath. Why would I wear a towel in the bath?" Fu asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Think about your modesty." Natsu once more pleaded in what she was realizing was a losing battle.

"I don't really get what that has to do with anything." Fu waved her off as she reached out for the blond. "Come on, Naruto! I want you to wash my back!" The girl happily told him as she pulled him along with her, leaving an exasperated Natsu behind.

Meanwhile, over in the bath, Hinata was busy submerging herself up to her nose in the warm water. "What have I done!?" The young Hyuga mentally shouted at herself, her face flushed from more than just the water temperature. She'd gone on autopilot ever since Fu asked Naruto to bath with her, but now that she was actually here. "Just kill me now." Hinata thought as she sunk down further, leaving only the top of her head above water.

"Wow, your shoulders have gotten wider since last time." Fu marveled at her blond friend's body as she scrubbed the dirt and grime away.

"Thanks." Naruto replied with a strained smile. "Damn it! Why can't I stop thinking about her!?" Naruto, his muscles completely stiff from tension, thought to himself. He's seen her body dozens of times, there shouldn't be any issue with them doing this. He should just act like he did in the old days, but every time he tried to build up the resolve it withered away before he could act. "Now that I think of it, dad has been weird about it for the past few years." Naruto recalled as the image of his father's strained face popped into his mind accompanied by his question of "Aren't you a little old for that?" If he had to place how long its been since their last bath together then it'd probably be little over a year and a half ago. So, what changed since then? Just as the question entered his head an image of Hachiro entered his head. "That's it! It's because of Hachiro-sensei's lessons!" The blond mentally shouted.

"Okay, my turn!" Fu's joyful voice ran through Naruto's ear.

Trying not to show any hesitation Naruto shakily took the offered sponge and put on a forced smile. "No problem…" The blond said as he looked behind him at the excited girl who was completely bare. A fact he'd be all to reminded of if he looked any further down than her shoulders.

"Well come on! Get of the stool so I can sit down!" Fu playfully said as she took hold of the plastic seat and started to pull.

"Hey! Hey! Careful, are you trying to get me to fall on my face?" Naruto chided her, but as he watched the smile grow even more on her face something stirred in him. As embarrassing as this whole mess should be, she just kept going like everything was normal. Well, for her this is normal. It made him feel like an idiot for worrying so much. He'll definitely avoid ending up in this kind of mess in the future, but he should just force down his shame and enjoy this like old times. "Okay, Okay, I'm getting up."

"Don't miss a spot, got it!" Fu told him as she sat in the now vacant stool.

"Since when have I ever missed a spot?" Naruto replied, his smile was still strained but as least he was able to move his body normally again.

"I don't know. You used to be pretty terrible at this." Fu replied with a cute pout.

"That was years ago! I've gotten WAY better since then!" Naruto blurted out as he placed the sponge to her back.

Meanwhile, over with Naruto's comrades. "I feel like he's having an easier time dealing with this then he should." Kiba grumbled as he and Shino sat over by a wall with their backs turned to the others as they washed their hair.

"Just keep your head low and we'll make it out of here without any issues." Shino advised his teammate.

"Now we can take a nice long rest in the tub while we rinse off!" Fu said with a fist pump once her body was washed.

"Oh, w-wait! Let me get out first!" Hinata let out as she stood up from the water, wide eyed. She was thankful that her towel didn't come undone in the sudden movement.

"Nonsense! Let's relax toget-heeeerrr!?" Fu was saying when she lost her footing on the slick floor. Losing her balance Fu fell forward, and for Naruto's efforts to catch her he received her other foot square to the chin, sending him onto his back. "Atatatata, that really stings." Fu winced as she lifted her face from the floor. No blood, but she was definitely going to feel that in the morning. Playing it of with a laugh Fu glanced up to Hinata with a playful grin. "Looks like I took a tumble." Fu said, though the words failed to reach the Hyuga heir. Turns out consciousness wasn't the only thing Naruto lost in the fall, and Hinata's body rapidly turned a bright red as her eyes refused to leave the object dangling between the blond's legs.

"KYAAAAAAAA!" From her spot in the living room Hinata's mother let out a sigh as her daughter's shout echoed throughout the manor. She'd been using her byakugan to watch them ever since they left her sight but decided that she needn't bother any more and halted the flow of chakra to her eyes. Perhaps this can be an important life lesson for the girl.


	16. Chapter 16

**Here's chapter 16! Hope you all enjoy it!**

**(Marshalanime9 does not own Naruto)**

Dark. Stifling. Humid. These all described the small room. Not a shred of light, artificial or natural, entered the space, making it difficult to take in the scenery. Should one's eyesight adjust to the darkness they'd see what was once a typical hotel room encased in various fungus. The walls, ceiling, floor, furniture, electronics, every square inch was covered. The only thing to break up the mass of fungus was the form of a little girl sitting against the backboard of the bed, her knees held against her chest and her head resting against them. She sat so still that one could be forgiven for questioning if she was still alive.

"Hurry up sweetie, or I'll leave you behind!" Azami called out as she twirled around to look at the blond boy a few paces behind her. In contrast to Naruto's scowl she had a wide grin plastered on her face.

"Isn't it irresponsible to leave the person you're supposed to escort and since when were you the one deciding where we're going?" Naruto questioned.

"You're sooo CUTE when your irritated, sw-ee-tie~" The woman replied with a sickly-sweet smile, placing her hand behind her back as she leaned forward to be more at eye level with the boy. It was an added bonus when this angle gave him a good view into her shirt.

"And why am I paying for everything!?" Naruto, doing his best to advert his eyes from the girl's cleavage, asked her with a flushed face. This resulted in him being blindsided by her approach.

"Oooh, but you just love spoiling your adorable little wife, don't you sweetie~" Azami cried out as she wrapped her arms around the boy's head and slammed it between her impressive bosom. "Besides, if I don't satisfy my sweet tooth then I'll be forced to dig into my adorable little hubby!" Azami said as Naruto managed to angle his head up enough to see her face. Behind the mirth in her eyes was a dangerous glint. "Or perhaps that's what my sweetie is counting on? Ooh, such a naughty little boy~"

She'd been putting this act on all morning knowing that Naruto could do nothing to dispute her. Getting "married" would be pointless if he went around saying it wasn't real, and Azami was going to take advantage of it. She'd always had a bad habit of picking on her "adorable little bro" when he was growing up and now, she had had the perfect excuse to continue. After all, she really did make it seem like they were a young couple. The only problem was the age gap. Azami didn't care about the public's view of her but Naruto could feel the piercing gazes of those around them, painfully so. The more Naruto got flustered the more Azami pushed him.

Managing to pry the girl off Naruto stumbled back a few steps, his face bright red. "S-Stop joking around!" Naruto blurted out in a huff. All around him people were staring, and he could faintly hear whispers.

"That's Kushina's kid, right?"

"I knew those two were close, but this? He's so young."

"I always figured the Senju princess would dig her claws into him but couldn't she have waited till he was an adult."

"Bet the kid made the first move. I know I would have if a bombshell like that was always so clingy."

"I expected better from the son of the Yellow Flash."

"Let's just get going then!" Naruto pleaded as he took hold of Azami's hand and led her off while she giggled like a love smitten schoolgirl.

A short time latter had one of the back allies filled with unrestrained laughter. Once away from the public eye Azami finally let it out, clutching her sides and dropping to the floor as she laughed so hard tears started to flow.

"At least someone's having fun." Naruto grumbled with folded arms as he watched the girl's antics.

"O-Of course!" Azami managed to squeeze out in between her laughter.

Letting out a sigh Naruto reckoned he'd just have to wait for the girl to tier herself out. "You're loud." A voice so soft he almost didn't hear it over Azami's laughter despite the person standing right next to him reached Naruto's ears. Speaking of which, Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin when he realized someone draped in a dark green cloak was standing inches away from him.

"The hell?!" Naruto mentally questioned as his heart rate slowly settled back into a normal rhythm. Coming out of the awkward pose he ended up in Naruto started, "Oh, sorry about tha-"

"Mushrooms…" The person cut him off. Whoever this was, they were a weird one. With a cocked eyebrow Naruto squatted down so he could look at the person under the hood. The dark grey eyes that met him when he did sent a jolt running through him. "This village is too bright… I can't find any…" The girl told him.

That's when a hand gripped his shoulder. "We should go." Azami told him. The bundle of laughter from seconds earlier was gone without a trace. She was serious, and her gaze was locked onto the girl before them like she was a timebomb waiting to explode. But Naruto didn't see this, the only thing he was looking at were this girl's eyes. They were looking at him, but not AT him. They were unfocussed and hazy, and deep down he could see something familiar and unpleasant.

"I think I know where mushrooms would be growing in the village!" Naruto told the girls with a big smile. When the words left his mouth Azami's grip on his shoulder tightened and a stifling pressure emanated from her. For what ever reason she wanted nothing to do with this girl, but Naruto wasn't having it.

Reaching out Naruto took hold of one of the girl's hands. Surprisingly enough she hadn't been phased by the pressure washing over her from Azami, though she did tilt her head down to look at the hand Naruto held when the feeling reached her like the whole premise was a foreign concept.

"Come on, I'll take you there!" Naruto told her with his big grin. She simply continued to stare at their connected hands, though she wasn't trying to pull away. Naruto took that as an ok.

With gritted teeth Azami begrudgingly let go of Naruto's shoulder as he stood up straight. He really did have a nasty habit of ignoring her when it mattered. She's going to take shit for this later but for now she'll keep a VERY close eye on this girl.

Naruto started to head down the ally with his new companion walking next to him and Azami a step behind. It didn't take long to get back to the street and Naruto but that's when Naruto finally met resistance. Just as Naruto entered the street, he felt the slack in his arm vanish. Glancing back, he looked down the length of his arm and too the girl on the other end. She'd stopped just before leaving the shaded alleyway.

"It's… too bright…"The girl answered his unspoken question.

In response Naruto adopted a confused yet concerned expression. "But we have to go this way to get to where the mushrooms are." Naruto told her.

"…" Her hand tightened it's grip around his hand as the girl digested his words. After a short pause she lowered her head to a point where her face was nearly completely hidden before stepping forward. "…Okay…" The girl told him as she stood next to the blond. And that's that how they continued for a while, Naruto leading the girl while holding her hand and Azami following behind with her gaze locked onto said girl. Naruto would try to make small talk but would only receive short, blunt answers or no replies at all.

That's when Naruto spotted something. Taking a sharp turn Naruto lead them over to the side of the street. Once they stopped Naruto let go of the girl's hand telling her, "Wait here, I'll be right back."

Azami stayed with the girl to keep an eye on her, but it was ultimately pointless. Just like she was told she stood their and didn't move a muscle. The girl heard the boy's footsteps coming back so she prepared to continue when she felt something around her head. Her vision turned black for just a moment before she could see again. "There! You look great." Naruto's voice reached her ears as she moved her hands up to her face. She was wearing a plastic mask, a bunny shaped mask to be precise. When she looked up, she saw the boy giving her that same grin.

"It must be hard to walk when you can't see where you're going. This way you can look up even if it's sunny!" Naruto assured her with a thumbs up.

"…" She said nothing but gave a short nod. Without missing a beat Naruto took her hand back into his and continued their journey. This time she could watch the people around them as they passed. It was strange. They were smiling and having fun, just enjoying their day. She could not understand. Eventually they left the busy street and started to ascend a long stretch of stairs that twisted and turned up the cliffside. There were the occasional people walking the stairs or resting on one of the viewing platforms, but their group paid them little mind as they continued to head up. At one point she glanced back down at the village proper. It was amazing to think that they were all the way down there not too long ago. Even when they reached the top their trip wasn't over, though it was close.

"Here we are!" Naruto announced once they came to a stop in front of a building with what was obviously a large greenhouse connected to it. Konoha had several of these buildings run by their shinobi. They grew the plants used in medicine, poison, and what have you. This one had the lowest clearance level so even civilians could come and go as they pleased, looking at the plants or even purchasing some if they so desired. "If anywhere is going to grow mushrooms then it's here!" Naruto assured the girl.

"…" She stared up as the building before them. Like the other buildings up here it had a lot of trees surrounding it, giving it a different feel from the buildings down below. Though the overall structure was the same as the rest of the village the large glass panels that allowed sunlight in for the plants gave it even more of its own character. It wasn't anything too fancy, but she liked it.

They entered, getting the typical greeting one would expect from a public building like this. Once in the main greenhouse they were met with a vast variety of foliage gathered from many different places around the nation. Most of the plants weren't common to the local area, which made sense. You don't really need a greenhouse for plants that grow in your backyard. It was here, in the underbrush of the larger plants that they found what they had come for. Mushrooms and fungus of varying shapes and sizes grew at the base of trees, or in the shade of bushes and herbs. Naruto couldn't understand the appeal, but even behind a mask he could tell his new friend got excited with each new mushroom they found, so he was happy as well. After a while Naruto lost track of time and by the time, they left the sky was just starting to change hue as the sun set.

"Guess it's gotten pretty late." Naruto said with a sheepish chuckle.

"Yes, it has." Azami curtly said.

"So, ah, um…" Naruto started as his head turned toward the girl next to him. It was at this moment that Naruto realized that the girl who's hand he's been holding for hours had never given her name.

"…You're weird…" The girl commented as the blond was stumbling over his words.

"Huh? Where's this coming from?" Naruto blurted out.

"You spent… all day with me… and smiled… You have to be… weird…" The girl responded, tightening her hand around Naruto's on last time before using a body flicker to leave the pair where they stood.

"Eh!? Wha, where-GHA!?" Naruto was panicking, waving his now free hand around when Azami's fist came down on his head.

"You idiot." Azami growled, finally able to let go of the tension in her body. "Are you trying to give me gray hairs?"

"What's the big deal?" Naruto questioned with a glare as he rubbed the top of his head.

"I should be asking YOU that!" Azami shot back. "Haven't you looked over anything? That was one of the Kusa shinobi sent here to target you, and you just casually walk around the village with her like your good friends! Do you have a death wish!?" Azami berated him.

"Huh?" The confused look Naruto gave her answered all her questions.

"Gha! You are the biggest idiot I've ever known!" Azami shouted to the havens while yanking her hair out.

Den's room was encased in fungus. Mushrooms of all kinds grow rapidly around her, so she was use to living like this. She suffered no ill effects from fungus, so her health wasn't at risk. As the sun set her window opened, prompting her to move for the second time that day. When she looked up she saw her clone shutting the window behind her. She found it odd that the clone was wearing a bunny mask but said nothing regarding it. She would know why soon enough. Without exchanging words, the clone walked over to the original and placed her hand on her body. In a matter of seconds, the clone's form deteriorated, becoming a mass of rotten biomass before crumbling to the floor with the mask being the only thing left, sitting atop the heap like treasure found in a garbage dump.

Lifting her hand up to her face Den stared at it. For a long time, she just stared. "His hand was… warm…"


End file.
